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INCUBATOR 

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Introduction 3 

Our Orphans 4 

A Chapter on Poultry 5 

Poultry and Brood Houses 14 

Poultry Diseases 38 

Hatching Chickens in Incubators 64 

How to Caponize 68 

The Most Profitable Poultry 74 

Facts in Poultry Culture 90 

Names of Different Breeds 92 

The Egg Business 93 

Food for Chickens 96 

Profitable Poultry Keeping 101 

Feeding and Rearing 118 

Care and Management 133 

Turkeys, Geese and Ducks 153 

Eggs for Hatching ,165 

Hatching by Machine 167 

Points on Hatching in Winter 169 

Questions and Answers 171 

Around the Poultry Yard 176 

An Interesting Experiment 178 



ILLUSTRATED 

Reliable Poultry Manual 

A COMPLETE 

TREATISE ON POULTRY GULTURE 

INCLUDING 

Poultry Farming, Po(xltry Buildings, Higj)- Glass 

Poultry, Diseases, Gaponizing, Poultry 

for Pleasure, Profits in DUcks, 

Geese and TUrkeys. 



ARTIFICIAL HATCHING A SPECIAL FEATURE 



Compiled and Published by ^A 

APR & 1894*) 

'Reliable Incubator 
Brooder Company 

Price 50 cents Quingy, Illinois 



Plowman Publishing Company, Printers and Bookbinders 
Moline, Illinois 



\ 

V 



SF 




A PAIR OF BLACK LANGSHANS. 



Introduction. 



aOD has given to all men the means of sustaining 
their existence and that of their families. To 
some he has given the mind, which is always 
grasping after new ideas, and to others ease, lux- 
ury and the faculty necessary for amassing colossal fortunes. 
But the greater of these, in truth, are those who hy applica- 
tion and industry have devised means for alleviating the ills 
of life or of augmenting its productions. It is by the small- 
est and most insignificant means that many persons reach 
both fortune and position. 

The raising of poultry is one of the simple things that has 
never received from the public the attention it deserves. 
The low price of grain and other agricultural products, espe- 
cially beef and pork, has made farming undesirable, and 
a number of our best farmers are turning their attention to 
poultry raising for profit. Nearly every branch of trade is 
overstocked with workmen. Bookkeeping, clerking and the 
other higher industries are paying small salaries ; and even if 
there was room for all to follow these occupations, how many 
are able to save anything over actual expenses? The bus- 
iness of poultry culture opens a promising field for all who 
possess industry, ambition and a little capital to commence 
with. The cost of raising chickens and ducks is very 
small compared with the high prices they always command 
through the early spring season, during a period that other 
vocations are comparatively idle. 

If you, kind reader, are one among the many who are 
dissatisfied with your present occupation and your earnings 
therein, we respectfully ask you to personally investigate the 
subject of (i Poultry Kaising for Profit." 

Yours fraternally, 

Reliable Incubator and Brooder Go. 

Qaincy, Illinois. 



Oar Orphans. 



a 



hundked little chicks or more, 

Downy, soft and yellow. 
Were peeping out their discontent 

In voices far from mellow. 
I looked about in wonderment; 

No mothers were at hand, 
To gather 'neath their outstretched wings 

The doleful little band. 

And as I gazed, a small wee voice 

From one chick seemed to say : 
"Perhaps you think we like it, 

This fine, new-fangled way: 
lint it's very disagreeable, 

For, strange as it may seem, 
We never had a mother— 

They hatched us out by steam." 

"And they call us 'Happy Orphans,' 

When we're ready all to weep 
For no answering cluck comes back to us, 

Though we peep, and peep, and peep. 
They say it's scientific, 

And I've no doubt it is true, 
But I would rather have a mother; 

Now, really, wouldn't you ? " 



A Gl)apffr on Poultry. 



Plymouth Rocks. 

t -ITT- -7-ITHOUT a doubt the most popular fowl with the 
\ m / American farmer is the Plymouth Kock. They 
\ \ J have been tested for the past twenty years 
w w with all the leading varieties and have been 

found one of the best all-purpose fowls in 
existence. With good care at eight weeks old they make a 
plump two-pound broiler, with yellow legs and skin. The 
pullets begin to lay at about six months old and are very 
prolific layers during the winter months when eggs com- 
mand the highest prices. As mothers they really have no 
superior. They are vigorous, contented in confinement and 
profitable. Their familiar plumage is like a rich but plainly 
made garment— always and everywhere admired. Matured 
cocks of this variety weigh ten to eleven pounds ; hens seven 
to nine pounds. This breed was originated some twenty-five 
years ago in Southern Xew England, and they have increased 
in popularity from the very start and earned their good repu- 
tation on their practical merits. They were produced by 
crossing the Black Java and American Dominique, taking 
their color from tbe latter variety. They make one of the 
most attractive fowls on the lawn and in the yard and are 
greatly admired by nearly every breeder of fancy poultry. 

White Plymouth Rocks 

Are identical in size and symmetry as their colored cousins. 
We do not go crazy over every new breed of fowls — no, nor 
any new breed, and have often expressed the opinion that we 
had breeds enough. That decision is adhered to, but if a 
really desirable new breed is found, and one less desirable is 
dropped, the number of breeds is not increased. The standard 
may retain all the old breeds and the new, but if the public 
drops several of them, that is the condition we allude to. 



RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



The White Plymouth Eock is certainly a desirable fowl, 
possessing all the excellent economic properties of old Barred 
P. R's, and being pure white is more beautiful, especially on 




A TRIO OF PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 



a favorable soil, and far more easily bred to a uniformity 
in color than any parti-colored fowl. Everybody knows 
the difficulty — nay, the impossibility, of uniformity in a flock 



A CHAPTER ON POULTRY. 7 

of Barred P. R's, for there'is an inherent difference in color of 
males and females, and a multitude of differences in the 
distribution of the various shades of Mack and white, which 
can only be brought to an approximate uniformity by great 
care and careful selection of a very few from among very 
many. The Whites are not liable to this objection, and they 
are equally exempt from the objections urged against any 
other breed of white chickens ; they are larger than the White 
Leghorns, more active than the White Cochins, and in many 
particulars surpass any white breed for general purposes. We 
can see no good reason why White Plymouth Bocks should 
not be the most popular of all white fowls, and as much 
sought after as any breed, regardless of color. They are well 
adapted to the use of farmers who raise, rather than breed 
chickens, and who have neither the skill nor the time to 
devote to the work of "breeding to feather." As a market 
fowl they will be especially attractive if raised on sandy soil 
or grass runs, so that their clean white plumage will rot be 
marred. The White Plymouth Rock is to-day a popular fowl 
wherever it is known. Their eggs are larger and darker than 
the Barred Plymouth Rocks and are sure of one of the biggest 
booms enjojed by any solid colored breed. 

Light Brahmas. 

The Asiatics consist of three distinct breeds, comprising 
the Brahmas, Cochins and Langshans, each of which is sub- 
divided into families, in respect to color markings and 
form. All of the Asiatics are very large and have feathers 
on their legs and toes, but differ mainly in shape and comb. 

Our oldest breeders will remember the first introduction of 
the old Cochin China fowls, about the year 18-17: first sent to 
the Queen of England by the British ambassador from 
Shanghai. Prices were very high for several years, and the 
craze for the new breed seemed' to increase as it spread. 
One hundred dollars for one fowl was not considered out of 
the way. The Asiatics all come under one head, the Cochin 
Chinas, and a few years later the Shanghais. Soon after 
fanciers, seeing their crude state, commenced to draw out 
their distinct characteristics and classify them. 

They soon developed the Light and Dark Brahmas, Buff 
Partridge, White and Black Cochins. 



8 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

The Black Langshans were of a later importation. All of 
these families have their special admirers, but the Light 
Brahmas are the most popular and best known. They are 
very majestic in their carriage and command admiration of 
all who see them. The accompanying cut well represents a 
group of Light Brahmas. 

The predominating color is white. Black fo'rms part of the 
plumage of the wings, which is not shown when folded. The 
tail is black, with a narrow lacing of white around the edge 



GROUP OP LIGHT BRAHMAS. 

of the large feathers. The feathers of the hackle are white 
with a black stripe in the center. The comb is what is 
known as "pea," looking much like two small single combs 
pressed into one. The legs are heavily feathered to the ex- 
tremity of the outer toe. The fowls are very docile, and 
carefully handled will be tame. They should never be wild, 
and when they are they have been roughly handed. They 
lay a dark buff colored egg, very rich, but will not lay as 



A CHAPTER ON POULTRY. y 

many as our smaller varieties. Neither will they bear con- 
finement of a city lot as well; especially is this the case after 
the first year. They put on fat, and want to sit after the 
first year, so as to be quite annoying; but when they have full 
range of the yard, can roam and pick grass, they are much 
less disposed to sit and give better satisfaction. They are 
not well adapted to keeping in large numbers, as are the 
JLeghorns, Minorcas or Wyandottes. For the table they are 
unexcelled. They grow very fast. The flesh is tender and 
sweet. They are hardy chicks; once from the shell will live 
where many others droop and die. 

The standard weight of Light Brahmas is, for cock 12 
pounds, hen 94 pounds, cockerel 10 pounds, pullet 8 pounds. 

The Silver Laced Wyandotte. 

This breed of fowls is all American. American in its 
conception, American in its get up and American in name. 
It is a fowl which fills the American eye, which means 
business and money. The old Dorking is too English for 
popularity on this side of the water. There is too much fuss 
and feathers and not enough business, and it is rejected with 
others of like cut. By his selecting and combining, the 
American has a fowl made on his order which just suits him. 
That fowl is the Wyandotte. The Dark Brahma was a 
large, hardy and fine table fowl, but had too much sit in it 
and was too clumsy. The American wanted the first three 
qualities, but had no use for the last two. The Silver Spang- 
led Hamburghs were great layers and very handsome, but 
small and tender. He had use for the first two qualities, 
which, added to the first three qualities of the Dark 
Brahmas, would just suit him. He crosses them, throws out 
what he does not want, and selects a finely laced, clean yel- 
low-legged, good sized fowl, as his ideal, and by selections, 
year after year, has produced a fowl that we are all proud of. 

This product of Yankee invention, with the assistance of 
nature, retains the rose comb of the Hamburgh, but falling 
in the rear instead of turning up. 

The fowl in weight is about half way between the Ham- 
burgh and Dark Brahma. In color it is black and white, 
laced, the black predominating, black tail, yellow legs, free 
from feathers. The body is very plump, skin yellow and 
makes a fine appearance in the market. 



10 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

They are hardy; give them any kind of a chance and they 
are not going to be left. 

For a few around the house lot, they can not be excelled. 
They are handsome, easily handled, will lay at all seasons, 
except during moulting, will sit, but are not annoying in this 
respect. 

They have a very quiet disposition, and put up with the 
necessities and inconveniences of life without any fuss. 




GROUP OF SILVER LACED WYANDOTTES. 

The Wyandotte and the Plymouth Rock are generally 
selected for the broiler farm, when it is desir e d to produce 
large numbers and turn them off young. 

We are often asked the question, "What do you consider 
the best fowl for all purposes?" If a main object is flesh 
with birds for early market (broilers), also a large heavy fowl 
and a good mother, we would say the Wyandotte. See 
what we have to say under the heading of "Leghorns." An 



A CHAPTER ON POULTRY. 11 

off-shoot of the Silver is the White Wyandottes. They are 
the same except they are solid white. They come from Silver 
Wyandottes as sports. 

A standard weight of all Wyandottes is, cock 81 pounds, 
hen 71 pounds, cockerel 61 pounds, pallets 51 pounds. Both 
varieties lay a medium size dark buff egg— in this respect 
holding to the Brahma characteristics. 

The Langshans. 

The Langshans are tine, useful and profitable fowls, and 
are justly very popular, as they bring their own certificate, 
and speak for themselves in every yard where they appear, 
and can stand wholly on their own merits wherever they are 
known. They are active, agile and impetuous, are very pro- 
lific, and grow quickly, mature early and lay well Although 
not given to being broody, they are good setters and good 
mothers. Their flesh is white, and they have a very thin, 
white skin. As a table fowl, are equal to small turkeys, and 
not inferior to them in delicacy and flavor. Their plumage is 
of a uniform glossy black and full of luster : comb single and 
a bright red color. The beak is dark, with flesh-colored varia- 
tions along the line of the mouth. Eyes dark, with but little 
difference in shape of pupil and iris ; neck long, full and 
profusely feathered ; back short and fairly broad ; rump 
high ; tail very full and flowing, carried rather high and 
forward, and furnished with good sized sickles ; legs and 
toes dark, with a vivid pink color showing between the scales : 
shanks scantily feathered to the end of the outer toes ( there 
should be no feathers on the middle toes ); bottoms of the 
feet are pink. (Pair Black Langshans shown on frontispiece.) 

Their eggs are fair size and are beautiful in color, varying 
from the palest salmon to the darkest chestnut brown. On 
some there is a bloom like that on freshly gathered fruit, 
whilst others are spotted. Cocks weigh 10 pounds, hens 8 
pounds at maturity. 

The Leghorns. 

"Which is'the best general purpose fowl for flesh and eggs, 
all things considered ?" 

A person might as well ask, which do you consider the 
best general purpose apple ^ All will depend on where the tree 



RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



is to stand, what it is wanted for, early, late, sweet, sour, for 
baking, stewing, drying or keeping for fall, winter or spring 
use. 

So with,fowls. The Wyandotte would be best for a broiler, 
farm or for market mainly, but if eggs are wanted principally, 
we would give that honor to one of the Leghorn class. 

It' is probably the best fowl for the general keeper of 
poultry. 





m^m^ 



A PAIR OF SINGLE COMI5 BROWN LEGHORNS. 



It is necessary to confine fowls more or less. The Leghorns 
take to this restraint more naturally than most others. 
They are less restless under it. and the little inconvience does 
not seem to interfere much with their business, which is to 
produce eggs. 

They go right ahead just the same, but if a range can be 
given them they will do better. They accept the general idea 



A CHAPTER ON POULTRY. 13 

of the country into which they have beeD adopted, that the 
main end and object of life is business, and that it is best to 
accept of it kindly. 

They are naturally what is called wild, but as we under- 
stand that, we must move about among them slowly, not 
making any quick moves, and by this careful, general hand- 
ling from the shell, they will climb all over us as freely as 
any fowl ; while at the same time if any sudden moves are 
made they will fly, which is quite annoying. But as we un- 
derstand this peculiarity we act accordingly. So that for a 
small home lot the Leghorns come as near to what we may 
call the best as any that can be chosen, and for a large num- 
ber with unlimited range, we would say the same. They 
will probably lay more eggs to the number and eat less than 
any other breed. 

The Brown Leghorns 

Have the same general characteristics. In color, the head, 
back and exposed part of the wings of the cock are a bright 
bay, while the breast, flight feathers of the wings and tail, 
are black. The neck hackle and saddle is bay laced with 
black. There must no white appear in any part of the 
plumage. 

The hen is of a salmon brown, formed by the alternate lac- 
ing of light and dark brown. The neck hackle is laced. 

There are four families of Leghorns, the White, Brown, 
Dominique and Black. The last named is not desirable be- 
cause it is small and has dark legs. Of the White and Brown 
Leghorns there are the rose and single combs, no perceptible 
difference otherwise. 

The White Leghorns 

Have a solid white plumage, white ear lobe and yellow 
legs with flowing tail. They lay at all seasons, if well cared 
for, excepting during moulting, a white egg, and seldom want 
to sit. 

The chicks are hardy and grow fast. Some prefer them 
for early broilers. They say they early get the size of H or 2 
pounds, and at that age are as good as the chicks of the 
larger breeds. They get their growth at the age of five 
months, and are good fall and winter layers, as we have said, 
if well handled. 



14 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



Poultry and Brood Ho6ses. 



Some Practical Suggestions. 

With the assistance of several of our most suc- 
cessful poultry breeders we are able to present 
to our patrons illustrations and descriptions of 
twelve different styles of poultry buildings. 
We have kept in mind the fact that all poul- 
trymen, especially many who are just entering into this pleas- 
ant vocation, do not possess the means to invest largely in 
this direction, and have arranged the cost of construction 
from $20 to $100 dollars. However, the cost and quality of 
material used will govern in this' respect. Prices will depend, 
to some extent, on locality. Our special desire is to make 
each design plain to those who may desire to build or re-con- 
struct their poulty buildings. From the accompanying 
illustrations the reader can derive ideas that will enable him 
to construct any one of the houses that he may decide upon 
as best suited to his needs and pocketbook. 

The poultry house illustrated on the next page is one in 
which convienience and comfort are the prime considerations. 
The roosting and laying house, which constitutes the main 
building, is 10x20 feet shown in rear side view at Fig. 1 in 
illustration. The front of the building is eight feet high, 
with space of two feet between ground run ( H) and board 
floor above same, as seen in Fig. 2 of the illustration, the 
height of roof above the floor is therefore six feet. The 
rear posts of the building at point of junction with the shed 
are five feet high. The shed adjoining the rear of the main 
structure is 16x20 feet, making with the space beneath floor 
in main building a ground run of 20 x 26 feet. 

At B is the passageway, two feet wide, extending the full 
width of the building, with door shown at C, entering the hen- 
nery proper. The outer entrance door is seen at A. The 
roosting perches are shown at E, drop doards at F, nests at 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 



15 



G and located under the drop boards. In the partition back 
of the nests is a hinged board one foot wide, through which 
opening eggs are taken from the nests. At 7 is shown a trap 
door through floor to ground run. 

The window in the shed roof is 3 x 3 feet and hinged to 
afford ventilation in summer. At S S in both figures are 
shown openings for ventilation four inches in diameter. 
The board floor in Fig. 2, as before stated, is two feet above 




ground and can be covered with tar paper on which several 
thicknesses of newspapers are first laid, and on top of these 
another layer of tarred felt is tacked on with laths two feet 
apart. This floor should be kept covered with sand or dry 
dirt about three inches deep. Coal ashes may also be used on 
it to good advantage. Over the roosting drop boards tarred 
felt is also put and this is kept covered with ashes. 



16 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

The inside walls of the house are sheathed with slate 
paper, over which is tacked a dozen layers or so of newspapers 
and then another layer of slate or tarred paper. This house 
is water and wind proof, and so warm in winter that a pan of 
water will scarcely freeze over in it. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

1,260 ft. matched boards, 100 2x2 in. scantling, TO 2x4 

joists > . . . $22.80 

2 windows for covered run 1.75 

5 small windows . 1.20 

15 lbs. nails, hardware, etc 2.25 

Lath 90 

5 squares roofing paper 5.00 

3 squares tarrred felt for floor 3.00 

8 squares sheathing paper 1.00 

Total cost $37.40 

A $32 Poultry Building. 

A plain structure is that shown on the following page, but 
one that answers a good purpose for 25 or 30 fowls. It shows 
plans for two pens only, but these can be duplicated on same 
plan to the extent desired. 

The building shown at Figure 1 is 10x16 feet, and 9 fret 
high in front and 5 feet in rear. It is sided up and down 
with common matched boards. Tar paper is used as sheath- 
ing and the floor being double, the paper is also used between 
floor boards. The roof is covered with No. 1 shingles. Some 
may prefer ground floor, and if so the cost will be still less. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

400 ft. common boards $ 4.00 

220 ft. for flooring 1.75 

400 ft. common boards for lining 3.20 

200 ft. spruce or hemlock ].8o 

2 squares No. 1 shingles 4.00 

Tar paper 2.10 

200 ft. 2x4s, 10 ft. long 2.00 

22 ft. 2x4s, 19 feet long, for plates 22 

96 ft. 4x6s, 16 ft. long, for sills 96 

90 ft. 6x6s, 10 ft. long, mud sills 90 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 




FIG. 1. 



Ik' 



^^ ! =&i^^^y&^!^^^^X^^ 



NESTS- 



NESTS- 



DROP B 



DROP B 



Run 



ROOSTS 



DUST BOX 



ROOSTS 



: &ftfr?^<^y^ 



DUST BOX 



RUN 



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«a^&bsa^^^^i^^ 



l\V\\\\^SV^ S 



FIG. 2. 
A $32 Poultry Building. 

Plans and Specifications by D. L. Somerville, Stewarttown, Out. 



18 REMABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

64 ft. 2x4s, 12 ft. long, for rafters 64 

60 ft. common lumber for drop boards, nests, etc ... 48 

Lath for partitions 60 

Hardware 1.80 

Windows 2.40 

Labor of carpenter 5.00 

Total cost $31.85 

The cost of lumber is figured at $10 per M for the best 
grade: $8 for second: $9 for Hemlock, and $10 for scantling, etc. 

Blythecote Poultry House. 

These buildings are located on the farm of J. D. Tomp- 
kins, Brainard, N. Y., and are models of comfort and conven- 
ience. In size the structure is about 14x32 ft., divided into 
compartments 8x10 ft., with a hallway in rear of pens four 
feet wide. The figure of the ground plan on next page gives 
detailed information in itself. The partition along the hall is 
made of wire netting down to within 16 inches of the floor 
and below this are small rounds two and a half inches apart, 
thiough which the fowls feed and drink from a trough and 
dishes placed on hallway floor close to the partition. The 
pen partitions are of wire also, down to within three feet of 
floor, then they are boarded up tight. 

Ventilators, one for each pen, are provided in the shape of 
a chimney made of boards running from the floor up through 
and above the roof, with an opening at the floor to ventilate 
in winter by drawing out the cooler air which lies near the 
floor, also with an opening in the ventilators near the top of 
the room for use in the summer to take out the hot air near 
the ceiling, one to be closed when the other is open, accord- 
ing to the season or as occasion requires, each being operated 
by a cord from the hall. 

The perches are arranged about three feet from the floor 
above a platform and on a level with each other. About one- 
third of the floor of this platform is something like sixteen 
inches above the floor of the building and then turned up at 
an angle of 45 degrees, making it an easy task to remove the 
droppings.'which is done once each week, to an open shed 
provided with a bin for the purpose. Under the platform at 
the low side is arranged movable nest boxes, while under the 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 




20 RELIABLE POULTRY J1ANUAL. 

inclined part of a dust box is made, in which the fowls enjoy 
the great luxury of a dust bath in winter, located in front of 
a window that comes to the floor. The floor of the apart- 
ments occupied by the fowls is covered with fine gravel and 
sand to the depth of two or three inches. The feeding and 
watering being done from the hallway,with only wire netting 
for partitions, the birds may be seen and cared for with neat- 
ness, pleasure and dispatch, while nothing is wasted or 
made unwholesome by getting into their dishes. 

A Novel Poultry House. 

The interior arrangement of house on page 13 is original, 
and for cleanliness it is unsurpassed. It is divided into two 
rooms, 8x10 and 4x10 feet, respectively, with a wire partition 
and a wire door to pass from one room to the other. The 
small room is nearest to the entrance, and is used as 
the roosting room. The roosts are on the incline plan, and 
each roost bar is four feet long, and six in number, with a 
drop board on the same incline one foot beneath, which is 
covered with dry dirt and carries all droppings down towards 
the floor and is easily cleaned. By this plan all the drop- 
pings are in one place and easy of access, because the roosts 
are all movable. Everything should be made movable, 
as far as possible, which renders cleaning handy and does not 
allow vermin to accumulate_in the joints. The nesting room 
should be as trim and neat as possible. By having it so en- 
hances the pleasures as well as the profits of poultry keeping. 

The arrangement of the nests is in single and double 
rows, and movable, according to the number of hens kept. 
Each nest is 15x16 inches square and 15 inches high. Take 
two boards, 15 inches and 10 inches, and place a five-inch 
strip on front and back at the bottom, with the front cut in 
V-shape. The supports on top are four 3x1 inch strips, the 
front one projecting one inch, so as to form a stay for the 
lattice, which fits under at top and fastens at bottom with a 
button. The doors are only used when the hen sits, and will 
prove invaluable to keep the hens from laying in the nest. 
There is no bottom made to the nest, and it is placed on the 
dirt with the straw over it. The idea is to have a nest that 
can be easily cleaned. When there are bottoms in them the 
vermin accumulates in the crevices, and it seems almost im- 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 



21 




A Novel Poultry House. 

Description and Illustration Furnished by The American Farmer, 
. . ..Washington, Di C. ■•- - - 



-2 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

possible to thoroughly clean them. By this arrangement we 
believe that these difficulties are overcome, and with very 
little trouble the nests can be handled and whitewashed. 
The dirt bottom is a drawback to lice, and is easier to the 
hen than boards. This makes a roomy nest and allows space 
and ventilation to the hen when she is sitting, and the first 
chick will have the necessary room until the hatch is over. 

The door in the wire partition should be closed before the 
fowls go to roost. This will prevent any from roosting on the 
nests and forces them on the roosts. The feed bins are over 
the nests and easy of access, and will hold a bushel of grain,- 
and are six in number. 

Sunnyside Poultry House— Cost $35. - 

The cut on opposite page shows ground plan with dimen- 
sions of a poultry house with three apartments for three dis- 
tinct breeds. The size of main building is 18x24, with one 
door entering into a hall-way which runs full length of 
building and is three feet wide, giving ample room to run a 
wheelbarrow in to clean out the various compartments. Also 
a drop door is left on the nests, the back part of which ex- 
tends three inches into the hall and allows you to remove 
eggs or examine nests without entering into the compart- 
ment where the fowls are. The nests are to be made port- 
able, so as to be easily taken out and cleaned when desired, 
giving them a thorough renovation at will. The roosts are 
suspended near the center of each pen by wires at the four 
corners with a hook, making them portable and very easily 
taken out and renovated. A dusting place is shown on dia- 
gram in right hand corner of each pen, where the sun will 
keep it dry, being right under the large windows, the size of 
it is 2x2x3, being three-cornered. The dotted lines running 
lengthwise of the building represent a six-inch board stood 
on edge on ground, forming a litter or scratching apart- 
ment 4x8 feet. Soft-feed boards are shown on diagrams in 
each pen, which are made 2x6 and lathed 18 inches high, roof 
shape, all around, leaving lath wide enough so that the fowls 
can get their heads through to eat comfortably. This pre- 
vents them from trampling the feed and spoiling it; this is 
made portable and easy to clean. The doors to the various 
entrances are shown in cut by x x x x. The cross] lines thus 



POTTLTRY AND BROOD HOUSES 



pjvog P93J )/os 



m* 



p,^^ 



BJi m fi<l buijizo 



.(/ GuMj S3l/DJ9d 



o.iiM fiq dui/iao 



I0JJ dulllj S31J0A3J 



3j;M fiQ bui.lPO 



joj/ bumf S3i\3id,j 



■ pjvog p33j ijos 



Sunnyside Poultry House. 

Plans and Specifications by J. W. Russell, Vermillion. 

. ..' ."." .'.'.- .South Dakota.. 



24 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

— II— II— II— II— are the partitions separating each pen and are 
boarded tight 18 inches high, then latticed with lath or wire 
netting. The water troughs are made to slide under the 
partition, which (if itself forms a fence to keep fowls from 
getting any more than their heads in to drink. The height 
of front to eaves is 9 feet: the other one foot can be run up 
past and a board put on, which adds to the appearance of 
outside. The back is 6 feet high, which allows a drop of 3 
feet to 18, amply sufficient to run off water. The two middle 
posts are shown in cut simply to give a plainer view of where 
the divisions are on inside. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

480 ft. common boards for roof $ 7.68 

000 ft. ship caps for sides and ends 10.80 

40 pieces 2x4 12 ft., 10 pieces 2x4 18 ft 8.00 

3 large windows 1.00 

3 small windows 1.00 

loo pounds tar felt 3.00 

30 ft. wire netting 4 ft. wide 1.35 

5 bunches lath 88 

Nails and lock 1.00 

Total cost $34.71 

The above does not include cost of labor on building. 

An $18 House. 

The cut on next page figures illustrate a cheap and com- 
fortable poultry house. The posts are seven feet and the dis- 
tance from ground to ridge of roof is 10 feet. The dimen- 
sions of the building are 10x20 feet. The east side is covered 
by 1x3 inch strips two inches apart. The south side is board- 
ed up three feet from bottom, stripped four feet, and then 
boarded to peak of roof. The north and west sides are 
boarded up tight. This gives protection for cold weather in 
this climate (Mississippi) and is very cool in summer. In a 
colder climate it would probably be necessary to board all 
sides of building up tight. 

The house is divided into four compartments by wire net- 
ting with two 12 inch boards at base, which is sufficient to keep 
cocks from fighting. For roosts, I use pine trees about five 
inches in diameter. The nest boxes are in the rear of each 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 




FIG. 1. 





- 10'- || - 10'- 








! EXIT 
?X,T ROOSTS i ROOSTS 












1 1 nests I | | : | J | -STS | | 




1 | | , 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 - • ■ 1 1 




EXli i EXIT | 

: ! 








OOOR r DOOR 
W»»MM»* — — ' i wm»»»i»M-. 



T 

FIG. 2. 
An $18 House. 

Plans and Specifications by A. E.. Shaw, Bay St. Louis, Miss. 



26 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

pen, as shown in illustration. In this house were kept four 
breeding pens of fowls, one cock and 10 hens to each yard. 
They thrive well and were seldom troubled with disease of 
any kind. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

825 ft. 1x12 boards @ $10 per M $8.25 

200 ft. 1x3 boards @ $10 per M 2.00 

180 ft. 2x3 for framing !»0 

30 ft. 2 in. wire mesh six feet wide 50 

Nails 50 

Staples for wire netting 10 

4 pairs of hinges with screws HO 

Labor of one man two days (a) $2.50 5.00 

Total cost $17.85 

A House Costing $34. 

The sketch on next page represents a poultry house suitable 
for a person keeping a small number of fowls. The size of 
house is 38 ft. long and 8 ft. wide, 8 ft. high in front and 6 ft. 
high in rear, in other words a lean-to shed with sufficient 
slope to the roof to shed the water readily; 6 ft. on each side 
of this building is utilized as open sheds. The 10 ft. in cen- 
ter is boarded tightly all around, except a door in each end to 
admit to the shed on either end. In building the house use 
either 2x4 or 3x4 scantling for posts, sills and frame work of 
house: for weather boarding and roof use one inch thick and 
12-inch wide hemlock boards, same to be placed up and down 
and cleat with ordinary building laths to keep out draughts. 
The flat roof is covered with standard roofing paper properly 
cleated and then covered with two coats roofing paint. The 
house should front south, and in front make two windows of 
9x12 glass. Sheds are closed in on all sides except front, 
where there is a wire-covered door 3 ft. wide 6 ft. high, the 
balance of front to be covered with wire in order to admit 
sunlight. 

In the sheds may be placed food and water for the fowls 
and also a box 3x6 ft. for dust bath. A box properly partionecl 
can also be placed in the sheds for bone and oyster shells. 
This shed will afford shade in the summer time and protec- 
tion to fowls in the winter. The main house is divided into 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 27 

two rooms 8x8, partitioned off with wire, with 3 ft. hall on 
one side -running the entire length of house, partitioned off 
with wire or laths. In each room there is a platform 2 ft. 




/^/WW^/Wf'/W^^^^ 



4' 4 



r 



ROOSTS 



ROOSTS 



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JIG. 2. 
A House Costing $34. 
Plans and Specifications by J. G. Longfellow, Clayton. Del. 



high and 7 feet long, under which place nest, using nail kegs 
with part of one side cut out. •■ In front of platform make a 
door 1 ft. wide and 7 ft. long through which to get eggs from 



28 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL,. 

nests. In making platform 7 ft. long it will leave 1 ft. space 
in front for hens to go under platform to lay. The top to 
platform should be on hinges torajse up out of way when it is 
necessary to clean behind it. Over top of platform place 
roosting poles li ft. apart and 2 ft. above platform: these 
roosts should be on hinges so as to be thrown out of tbe way 
during day. The floor of the house should be dirt unless in 
damp locality where board floor is best. Ventilator is shown 
at top of house 2 ft. high and 1 ft. wide, and is to be closed in 
winter time. No further detailed explanation of drawings is 
necessary, as they are self-explanatory. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

850 ft. pine siding $15.60 

262 feet 3x4 scantling 4.32 

2 windows, glasses 9x12 1.20 

Roofing paper 2.50 

Nails 50 

Hardware 50 

Wire netting 1.66 

Laths 35 

Labor 5.00 

Paint . .' 2.0Q 

Total cost ' S33, 1 13 

A Canadian Poultry House— Cost $55. 

The sketch on page 29 illustrates a convenient house for 
fowls, the cost of which, not including labor, was $54.52. 
The building is 14x32, and 7 ft. high at front and 5 ft. at 
rear. Only a short section is shown in the cut. The roof is 
sheathed with inch hemlock covered with tarred paper over 
which No. 1 shingles are laid 5 inches to weather. Windows 
and doors are all double. Front and ends are sided with V 
joint matched stuff and painted: rear is covered with common 
rough lumber. This completes the outside. 

There are two pens 6x14, one at each end, without floor, 
with ground dust box in each just in front of window. The 
other 20 ft. is divided into three pens, two of them are 11x18 
ft. each, and one is 11x4 ft. There is a 3 ft. hall running full 
length of the 20 ft., and a door on each end to get into the 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 




\/ r±,. f 



A Canadian Poultry House — Cost $55. 
Plans and Specifications by D. L. Somkrviixe, Stewarttown, Oat. 



30 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

exercise room. Fowls go through slide doors which are 8x10 
in. All outside walls are grouted between outside siding and 
inside lining; grouting is made rich with lime. Lathing and 
plastering, one good heavy coat, completes the inside walls. 
Pens are divided 2 ft. up from bottom with l-in. base-boards. 
Then to ceiling there is lattice work. The doors into pens 
are lattice work also. Roost poles are 2x4 in. rounded on top 
corners and a groove plowed down the center £ in. wide by 
i in. deep to within 2 or 3 in. of either end for coal oil as lice 
preventive. Bottom of same is well painted with pine tar. 
The perches rest on brackets at ends 2i ft. from floor. Drop 
boards are under roosts and nests are under drop boards 
which form top of nest boxes. 

The middle or small pen is used for sundry purposes. The 
20x14 ft. is doubled floored with rough pine. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

3 4x6 in. 20 ft $ 1.40 

2 4x6 in. 32 ft 1.53 

6 4x6 in. 14 ft 2.16 

30 2x4 in 2.00 

560 ft. common flooring 4.48 

1,000 ft. good culls 6.00 

400 ft. dressed siding 8.00 

5 square No. 1 shingle 10.00 

Windows 9.60 

Hardware 1.50 

Tar paper 3.00 

Lath and plastering 4.85 

Total cost $55.52 

A$100 Poultry Building. 

The building. Fig. 1, is 16 feet wide and 32 feet long, with 
alley three feet wide near the center, the floor of which is 
two feet above the floor of the house, thus giving a good, 
dark, quiet place for nests, which are located under floor at 
A, Fig. 2, and are easily reached through trap doors, B 
(shown at Fig. 4) in alley floor. The partition between the 
roosting and laying pen and the scratching pen below alley 
floor is solid, except a slide door 1 foot wide by 1$ feet high. 




nfc -nowrurt 



/ y r^n r -6- ] 



SC*rcNiN6 Pin 



32 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

The scratching pens are 7x12 feet each and are lighted by the 
window, C (Fig. 1), hinged at top, fastened with cupboard 
catch by gravity and opened or closed from alley by cord. E, 
in Fig. 3, represents doors from alley into pens on either side. 
The doors are made of lath. One short board forms a step, 
F, making it easy to go from alley into pens. The dust bath 
boxes, G, are 2 feet wide and 6 inches deep and two feet above 
them are the platforms, H, to catch the droppings; one foot 
above these are the roosts, I. 

By means of the lower windows, C, sufficient light is pro- 
vided in scratching pens; and through upper windows. K, good 
light is given for the dust baths. G, in the north part of the 
pen. In the summer, the sun being high, no direct sunshine 
enters either part of the pen and by keeping both sets of win- 
dows open it makes a very cool place for the fowls. The 
nests, below alley floor, are 1 foot deep and H feet square, 
open at top and about two-thirds of the way down the south 
side. They have a small piece of narrow board nailed across 
the bottom and extending out on the south side for a step for 
the hens in going on and off the nest. 

The building is constructed of hemlock lumber and covered 
entirely with roofing paper, and costs complete about $3 per 
running foot. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

2,500 ft. hemlock @ $15 $37.50 

1,500 ft. Neponset roofing 15.00 

18 sash, blights, 8x10 9.00 

50 lbs. 8d wire nails 1.50 

10 lbs. 2d wire nails 25 

1 hasp, 2 hooks, 36 pairs 2 in. butts, 2 pairs in. T 

hinges 2.00 

500 laths 1.50 

Carting 4.50 

Carpenter work 25.00 

Boxes for nests ." 50 

Posts for foundation 1.50 

Total cost $98.25 

If a man happens to be handy with carpenters" tools and 
does the work himself, the $25 could then be saved, thus re- 
ducing the cost to about $70. 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 



33 



,n 1 1 u n miu i 1 1 .i n n — 1 1 j i n 1. 1 1 1 1 rmr, 

1 1 111 





r-r ° — -^ 

£ * «_ l_ E -Y -"^ 


1 


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P05TS 


T -■■-.,_ 




POSTS 


. 9' "^ 
T r 




p 1 


-i r 



FIG. 4- 



A Building Costing about $80. 

Plans and Specifications by Frank Losee, Brooklyn, N. T. 



34 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

A Building Costing about $80. 

The building shown at Fig. 1 of the accompanying engrav- 
ing is 40 ft. front by 12 ft. in width, and same plans can be 
adapted to a lean-to structure if preferred. The arrange- 
ment of interior is simple. An alley 2 ft. 6 in. wide ex- 
tends full length of building (see Fig. 4) with a cross alley 4 
ft. wide from which entrance is had to the pens. Each pen is 
about 9 ft. square. The nests are so arranged as to be acces- 
sible for gathering the eggs from the long alley. At Fig. 2 
section of nest boxes and roosting perches is shown. The 
nests are one foot square with an opening to each box in 
alley-way. The location of the roosting perches and drop- 
boards may be seen at Fig. 3. The perches are on a hinged 
frame so that they may be turned up out of the way when 
drop-board is cleaned. 

The house is sided with boards. The windows are 3x5 ft. 
2 in. Partitions are boarded up 2 ft. from ground and above 
the boards there is 4 ft. wire netting. The inside doors are 
simply frames covered with wire. The following shows 

THE COST OF MATERIAL. 

1,300 sq. ft. matched boards, spruce $20 00 

350 ft. 2x4 joist 4.00 

300 ft. 2x3 scantling 3.E0 

4 windows 20.00 

250 sq. ft. wire netting 3.75 

300 sq. ft. tar roofing 6.00 

Nails and hardware 1.00 

Labor of carpenter 18.00 

Total cost $82.25 

Each additional running foot front will cost about $2.2.">. 

A Plain Structure for $30. 

The building here described is intended to accommodate 
30 fowls. Its construction is simple and easily understood 
from the illustration. It is 30 ft. long, 10 ft. wide and 8 ft. 
high in front, 6 ft. in rear. Roof is of tarred paper. The 
hall is 4x4 ft., from which entrance is had to the pens. The 
light lines shown at either side of entrance are to represent 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 



35 





7znmzzzzzzzzzz2zzmzzzzzzzz>z2zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz£ 

FIG. ? 

A Plain Structure for $30. 

sliding doors which may be lifted to admit a wheelbarrow 
into which the droppings may easily be swept from drop- 
boards under the roosts. At the letters A A, a 6-inch board 
is set up on edge and gravel is filled in from it to the outer 
side of pen. The plan should show two scratching pens, the 
partition between the two having been omitted in the draw- 
ing, however. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

1,500 ft. common siding $18.00 

300 ft. rafters, posts and plates 3.60 

Windows 4.00 

Tar paper for roof 3.80 

Door fixtures, nails, etc 60 



Total co3t $30.00 



36 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

A House for 50 Fowls— Cost $22. 

This building is 12 ft. long, 8 ft. wide, 7 ft. high in front 
with 2 ft. fall. Ordinary boxing lumber battened with tin 
strips is used for siding, nailed to a base and top frame of 2x4 
in. stuff. The roof is shingled. There are three openings 
(two windows covered with wire netting and one large door), 
one small window in the rear, a large window in the front 
side and the door in this end, as shown by the illustration. 
The small window in rear end is 2 ft. wide, 3 ft. long, 4 ft. 
from the floor running 1 ft. from the left-hand corner, not tu 




I27?£t 



A House for Fifty Fowls. 

Plans and Specifications by W. A. Thorin Dallas, Texas. 



extend over the platform ; the window in front of building is 
2 ft. wide, 10 ft. long, 4 ft. from floor, running 1 ft. from 
either corner ; the door is 3 ft. wide, 5 ft. high and just oppo- 
site the rear window. In the bottom of the large door is a 
7x12 in. slide door for the fowls to pass out and in when the 
large door is closed. Boxing lumber is used for flooring laid 
on 2x4 in. sleepers, the right-hand half of the floor being 1 ft. 
above the base or left-hand half, making a platform over 
which the roosting frame is placed, and under which the 
fowls may go for shelter from hot sun and bad weather. The 
roosting frame (C) is 9 feet long, 3| ft. wide, made of 2x4 in. 
stuff with 1x3 in. perches every H ft. apart crosswise of the 



POULTRY AND BROOD HOUSES. 37 

frame, the same being suspended by wire from the rafters 3 
ft. above the platform running lengthwise from the rear end, 
thus leaving 3 ft. of this end of the platform on which to set 
feed troughs, water vessels, etc., as the lower floor is for litter 
and the dust bath. The nest boxes (A) are made of boxing 
lumber and nailed to the siding of the building. The lower 
floor and platform (B) are divided by a 12 in. board running 
lengthwise of the building. The object of the platform floor 
under roosts is that it will be easier cleaned, and as the front 
part of the floor will be used to scatter litter on, the other 
end of platform will be used for feed troughs and water 
vessel. 

COST OF MATERIAL. 

350 ft. boxing lumber at $1.60 $ 5.60 

150 ft. 2x4 in. plank at $1.60 . 2.40 

350 ft. 1x3 in. stuff at $1.60 5.60 

li M shingles at $2 3.00 

Hardware— nails, hinges, wire netting, etc 1.40 

Labor— two men one day at $2 4.00 

Total cost $22.00 




38 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



Poultry Diseases. 



^-w-ll varieties of poultry are subject to disorders and 
/ I ailments that need medical treatment in order to 
/ assist nature to 'resume its healthful sway, and 

( our aim for the administration of medicine should 

V ^^ be to cooperate with nature and assist her in the 
effort to restore the fowl to health. Fowls being 
dumb, can not, as a human being can, tell where pain is 
located, or by giving its sensations aid the physician in mak- 
ing a correct diagnosis of the disease, hence the "doctor" must 
be guided solely by the outward indication of the fowl, and 
must prescribe according to what his eyes alone can see. 
Therefore we can not always be sure that we have determined 
the right disease nor prescribed the right remedy for it, and 
we therefore caution those who use this little book to note 
and carefully compare the symptoms of the fowl with those 
given here, as great care has bepn taken to give in as few 
words as possible the correct indication of each disease de- 
scribed. As for the remedies we have given, we believe them 
to be the best now known ; but it should be remembered 
that no medicine can be a specific, and that if one valuable 
fowl in five is saved, when ill, by the use of these remedies, 
the usual average in such cases will be more than accom- 
plished. 

But we wish to impress upon all breeders of poultry the 
importance of keeping in mind at all times the old adage that 
"an ounce of prevention is better that a pound of cure." 
Fowls need but little medicine if properly cared for, the 
essential feature of which is being well protected from 
the wind and rain, having dry, clean, light, warm and well- 
ventilated quarters, with a good grass run in the summer, 
and plenty of fresh cool water, If these conditions are com- 
plied with, and the fowls are well fed and their bowels kept 



POULTRY DISEASES. 39 

regulated by a tonic food, such as "Combs' Chicken Cholera 
Cure," we would be willing to insure against disease, unless it 
was introduced by some fowl that was already diseased. 

To be successful in raising either fine or common poultry 
requires strict attention to the details above given, and a 
reasonable amount of common sense. Both these being sup- 
plied, success is as certain as any other business, and will 
prove very remunerative. 

In conclusion, we would say: If you expect any medicine 
to cure disease, it must be administered when the fowls are 
first attacked, for if delayed too long the fowl will surely -die. 

Roup. 

Cause: This is considered one of the most dreaded and 
contagious diseases of poultry. It is caused principally by a 
neglect or want of attention to minor diseases of the air pas- 
sages produced by colds. If the breeder will attend to it in 
time he will not only save himself a great deal of unpleasant 
doctoring, but the lives of many birds. 

Symptoms: Are the same as in almost all other diseases 
produced by exposure to cold, wet and damp atmosphere, only 
it is of a more aggravated form; the discharge from the nose 
and eyes becomes thick, opaque and very offensive, the nos- 
trils become filled up and closed by the discharge, the eye-lids 
become swollen and stuck together, and often the eye-ball is 
quite concealed, and in severe cases the whole face is consider- 
ably swelled by the diseased secretion, and the poor bird, being 
unable to see to feed itself, rapidly sinks away. The disease 
is highly contagious, it being communicated by the effluvia 
arising from the discharge as well as by the contaminating of 
the drinking water by the sick bird's beak while drinking. 
Diseased birds, as soon as noticed, should be immediately re- 
moved from their well companions. 

Treatment: Every poultry keeper should have a hospital 
or dry room for sick fowls. Care should be taken to have it 
warm and carefully ventilated. Clean straw spread over the 
floor is of great importance. When it becomes soiled burn it 
and replace it with fresh. When you discover a fowl with 
symptoms of roup, remove it ^from the healthy flock to the 
hospital or to some room where it can receive care and medi- 
cal treatment. 



40 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

With our long experience we have found nothing that will 
effect a relief and cure more rapidly than our own remedy, 
"The Reliable Roup Cure." Sent by mail, postpaid, $1.00 per 
bottle. 

After you have secured the diseased bird in a comfortabl 
place, remove the discharge from the eyes and mouth with a 
soft cloth and warm water. Add one teaspoonful of roup 
mixture to half pint of pure cold water and let the fowl use 
this for a drink. Furnish them no other water after cleaning 
the nose and mouth as mentioned above. Then with the 
medicine dropper, which is furnished with each package of 
Reliable Roup Cure, inject 4 or 5 drops in the nostrils and 
roof of the mouth. Do this once or twice a day, and unless a 
hopeless case an improvement will be readily observed. An 
onion cut up fine and mixed with the food will be found to be 
very good. Feed no grain, and give the fowl nothing but 
cooked feed until entirely well. 

Important: In treating roup, be careful to remove any 
discharge from the nostrils that may collect on the feathers 
under the wings or on the breast. Whiskey or alcohol will 
wash off this discharge. Be sure to protect the sick fowls 
from all draughts and feed easily digested foods. When the 
fowls look stupid and droopy, feathers ruffled and no appetite, 
reduce their food even to fasting. If digestion is impaired 
give the following : 

Tincture of Nux vomica, - - - onedrachm. 

Alcohol dil. (half water). - - - nine drachms. 

Mix. Add fifteen drops to half pint of water and let the sick 
fowls use it as a drink once or twice daily until better. This 
is a valuable stomach tonic, especially where food disagrees. 

Compound tincture of cinchona, twenty drops in a half 
pint of water, is often serviceable as a general tonic. 

It often occurs that fowls have swellings on the head and 
feet which are sometimes troublesome. Where it is possible, 
use a bandage or compress with warm water ; then apply the 
following: 

Oxide of Ziuc Ointment. - - - one ounce. 
Stramonium Ointment, - - - - half ounce. 

Mix. This can be applied in all cases where an ointment is 
necessary. 



POULTRY DISEASES. 41 

Cholera. 

Cause: This disease is more to be dreaded than roup, or 
any other disease that poultry is subject to, as it is of a mias- 
matic origin, epidemic and very contagious. It is caused 
principally by overcrowding, keeping too many fowls in one 
place, bad sanitary management, unwholesome or irregular 
food, etc. 

Symptoms: The symptoms of chicken cholera are not well 
understood by the people generally, and it is probable that 
some men have that disease "on the brain," and so much-so> 
in fact, that whenever they lose fowls by any unusual 
disease that they do not understand they attribute their 
death to cholera. Many fowls go to their graves, so to speak, 
by other diseases, and cholera is blamed for sending them 
there. 

Every one who keeps fowls should be able to distinguish 
cholera from other diseases, for without such knowledge in- 
telligent treatment is an impossibility. 

Some of the prominent symptoms we give, and so far as 
known the condition of the internal organs. 

External Symptoms: The fowl has a dejected, sleepy 
and drooping appearance, and does not plume itself ; it is very 
thirsty, has a slow, stalking gait, and gapes often. Some- 
times the fowl staggers and falls down from great weakness. 
The comb and wattles lose "their natural color, generally 
turning pale, but sometimes they are dark. There is diar- 
rhoea with a greenish discharge, or like sulphur and water, 
afterwards it becomes thin and frothy. Prostration comes 
on, the crop fills with mucus and wind, and at -last the food 
is not digested, breathing is heavy and fast, the eyes close, 
and in a few hours the fowl dies. 

When fowls die it is very easy to say that they died of 
cholera, and so let it go ; but if the symptoms were not sub- 
stantially as given above, an autopsy would show that it was 
not that disease. 

On dissecting a fowl that has died of cholera, the gizzard 
will be found to be filled with dried-up or sometimes with 
a greenish matter, and the crop will be inflated with sour 
mucus and food. The liver will be much enlarged and 
flabby, and so tender that it will easily mash in the hand, 
and generally split open, and in every case is much congested. 



42 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

The crop and intestines are much inflamed, and the latter 
are filled with a greenish matter. The heart is also sometimes 
enlaged. 

Treatment: At once remove all affected birds, clean up 
the coops, wash them thoroughly with water containing Ave 
ounces of sulphuric acid to the gallon ; spade up the runs 
deeply in the summer and in winter use carbolate of lime 
freely in all parts of the coops. The sick fowls should be first 
treated • by administering to each fowl Comb's Chicken 
Cholera Cure ( we have found this the most effective of any 
we have ever used or sold, and, therefore, offer it with 
confidence ) every four hours until they act freely on the bow- 
els : let the drink be scanty, using freely "Douglas Mixture" 
in it. also adding some tannic acid to it : allow no other 
drink. 

Dr. S. J. Parker, of Ithaca. N. Y., gives the following ex- 
cellent prescription to be given in the earlier or indigestive 
stage of the disease, and we advise giving it a trial as soon as 
the fowls show symptoms of being affected. He says : "I find 
it best to force down the fowl's throat Eucalyptus globulus, ten 
drops of the strong tincture, common salt four to six grains, 
and half a teaspoonful of ground cayenne ( red ) pepper. One 
dose, in a tablespoonful of water, to be given at once. If the 
dose takes effect digestion is resumed, and in twenty-four 
hours the fowl is relieved or decidedly better."' 

The droppings must de drenched with the sulphuric acid 
water to destroy the germs and prevent the disease from 
spreading. When the birds are fed they should have only 
cooked food, in which '"Comb's Chicken Cholera Cure" should 
be added, one teaspoonful to every quart. This should also 
be given to those that have not shown symptoms of the 
disease, as it will prevent many from becoming infected. 
Our experience and observation leads us to believe that if 
they can be cured at all. this treatment will give them the 
best chance for life. 

To Prevent Cholera : 

1. Eemove all the affected birds. 

2. Give tonics, liver stimulants and aids to digestion. To 
accomplish these objects give our Cholera Cure freely. 

3. Give the fowls more space. This may be accomplished 
by diminishing the number of fowls or by increasing the area 
of their range and of their houses. 



POULTRY DISEASES. 43 

4. The poultry house should be thoroughly ventilated and 
be kept clean and dry. 

5. The buildings, yards and places of resort should be 
thoroughly disinfected. 

6. Give the fowls a "preventative" that will destroy or 
render inert the poison they have taken into their system. 
There is nothing known that will accomplish this as quickly 
and effectually as coal oil. The coal oil should be given 
three or four times a week, as follows: Take a feeding of 
corn or wheat and let it soak in the oil a few hours, then feed 
it to the fowls, or mix in soft feed one tablespoonful to two 
quarts of corn meal. 

Diarrhoea. 

Cause: Exposure to damp, cold, wet weather, neglect to 
clean the house or run, or too much green food and not 
enough grain. 

Symptoms: Lassitude and emaciation, voiding of cal- 
careous matter of a white color streaked with yellow, which 
sticks to the feathers near the vent. 

Treatment: Give five drops of camphorated spirits on a 
bolus of meal, or ten drops in a pint of drinking water, or the 
following prescriptions made up into pills may be given twice 
a day. viz : Five grains of powdered chalk, five grains of 
rhubarb and one-half a grain opium, the pill to" be of the size 
of a small pea. 

Canker. 

OF THE MOUTH. COMB, HEAD AND EYES. 

Cause: Badly housed, uncleanliness. musty or unwhole- 
some food. 

Symptoms: The breaking out of cancerous running sores 
in the head, mouth or throat, accompanied with a watery 
discharge from the eyes and a mucus secretion in the mouth 
and throat. 

Treatment: Wash the head and eyes, and swab out the 
mouth and throat with a diluted solution of chlorate of potash 
and alum, equal parts, containing one half water, and remove 
the ulcers with a quill, and apply , nitrate of silver or pow- 
dered borax to the places left bare, to be repeated twice a day : 
also mix a teaspoonful of powdered sulphur in the feed. 



14 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Diphtheria, Ulcerated Throat. 

Causes: Roosting or sleeping in a draft, or being confined 
in a damp place. 

Symptoms: Mouth and throat filling up with a white mu- 
cus resembling a thick saliva. Little white ulcers are found 
on the mouth, involving the throat and tongue. It is con- 
tagious, and unless take in time it will generally prove fatal. 

Treatment: Remove the fowl from its well companions 
to the hospital room : open the bill and powder the mouth 
and throat with a mixture of pulverized borax and chlorate 
of potash, or powdered burnt alum : feed on cooked food of 
such kind that will not cause a looseness of the bowels, add 
Reliable Roup Cure as per directions, which accompany 
each bottle, to their drinking water, and allow no other 
drink. 

Consumption. 

Causes: It often arises in breeding in and in for too long 
a period, but most generally it is caused by a neglected cold, 
or being confined in dark, unhealthy places, which cause 
scrofulous tubercles on the lungs, liver and other organiza- 
tions of the body. 

Symptoms: The symptoms are hardly observable in the 
early stages of the disease. In the more advanced state, 
there is a cough with a wasting away of flesh, and, conse- 
quently, indications of weakness, notwithstanding they are 
well fed. It is considered hereditary, and birds so affected 
should not be bred from. 

Treatment: Take a sharp hatchet and apply it just 
back of the comb. The bird will never be of use, either to 
breed or eat. 

Apoplexy, Vertigo and Epilepsy. 

Causes: Undue flow of blood to the head, which is usually 
caused by overfeeding. 

Symptoms: Running around in a circle or fluttering about, 
with apparently little control of the muscular actions. 

Treatment: Holding the head under a stream of cold 
water for a short time will arrest the disease : then place the 
bird in a somewhat darl* place by itself; feed sparingly on 
soft food for a few days. If this fails to cure bleed from the 



POULTRY DISEASES. 45 

large vein under the wing. Cat the vein lengthwise with a 
lancet or sharp knife : also give an aperient or a tablespoonful 
of castor oil to a large fowl, or teaspoonful to a small one. 

Sore Eyes. 

Causes: Overheating, dust, dampness or climatic 
changes. 

Symptoms: An apparent watering of the eyes, which, if 
not attended to timely, will turn into ulcerations. 

Treatment: Wash the eyes with castile soap and water, 
and give sulphur in food, and wash the eyes with diluted 
sulphate of lead. 

Costiveness and Constipation. 

Cause: Too long continued feeding on dry food, without 
sufficient green vegetables, want of a sufficient supply of 
pure drinking water, or too close confinement. 

Symptoms: Unsuccessful attempts of the fowls to relieve 
themselves, although they make frequent efforts to do so, and 
when they succeed it is in small quantities and is hard and 
dark. 

Treatment: Give plenty of green food, mix bran and oat 
meal into soft food, and give ten drops of sulphate of mag- 
nesia to a pint of drinking water. 

Crop Bound. 

Cause: The most usual cause is that the fowl has 
swallowed something that it cannot digest, such as a piece of 
bone or a stone, which obstructs the natural passage, and 
leaves the stomach empty, which thereby causes hunger. 

Symptoms: Continued hardness of crop, with a disinclina- 
tion to eat. 

Treatment: Give a dose of castor oil, two teaspoonfuls. 
If it does not clear the crop in twenty-four hours, the crop 
will have to be opened at the side by cutting a slit with a 
sharp knife. Clean entirely out, and close with a few stitches. 
Take care not to sew the skin of the bird to the sack of the 
crop. After sewing, annoint the parts with witch hazel oil. 
give the fowl no water to drink for twenty-four hours, feed it 
on soft food for a couple of days ; it will soon recover. 



46 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Soft or Swelled Crop. 

Causes: Fever or inflammation of the crop, which causes 
the fowl to constantly drink, without partaking of its proper 
food. 

Symptoms: Distension of the crop, the contents of which 
are of a fluid or soft character, sometimes principally air. 

Treatment: Slightly acidulate the drinking water with 
nitric acid, mix a half teaspoon ful of sal volatile with each 
bird's food every morning ; also give onions chopped up fine 
mixed with the food. 

Indigestion. 

Causes: Overfeeding, unwholesome diet, injudicious use 
of grain, debilitated system, etc. If neglected, it will cause 
an enlargement of the liver to a serious extent. 

Symptoms: Apparent laziness, want of appetite, with 
scanty and unhealthy droppings. 

Treatment: Give daily "Comb's Chicken Cholera Cure" 
according to directions. Finely chopped onions given daily 
will prove beneficial. 

m Gapes. 

Causes: Foul water, exposure to wet, damp places, par- 
ticularly at night, want of nourishing food, etc. 

Symptoms: The general symptoms, as the name implies, 
consist of constant gaping, coughing and sneezing, together 
with inactivity and loss of appetite. 

Treatment: Give the bird daily, until it recovers, a 
small piece of camphor about as large as a grain of wheat, 
and a few drops of camphor or turpentine to the drinking 
water, or mix with the food, about ten drops to the pint. 

Pip. 

Causes: Exposure to damp or wet weather. 

Symptoms: A short, quick, spasmodic cough, resembling 
a chirp, with a stoppage of the nostrils, compelling the bird 
to respire through the mouth. It is not considered a regular 
disease itself, but is a symptom only, which if not checked 
will result in catarrh and oftentimes roup. 

Treatment: Wash out the mouth and nostrils with a 
weak solution of chlorinated soda, and use Eeliable Roup 
Cure as directions prescribe. Feed only cooked food. 



POULTRY DISEASES. 47 

Bronchitis, 

Causes: The same cause that produces pip will cause 
bronchitis. 

Symptoms: Rattling in the throat when breathing, 
caused by cold settling on the lungs of the fowl, and the for- 
mation of mucus therefrom rising in the windpipe. If not 
checked, it is likely to result in consumption. 

Treatment: Remove to a dry place, and give Reliable 
Roup Cure with the feed, and slightly acidulate the drinking 
water with sulphuric and nitric acid. 

Debility. 

Causes: Overshowing at exhibitions, close confinement 
without fresh air, or it may be produced by a severe shock. 

Symptoms: Drooping without apparent cause, want of 
appetite, out of condition and general prostration. 

Treatment. Feed on good, wholesome food, a little at a 
time, give a raw egg daily until the appetite appears to re- 
turn, when change to a little cooked meat, and put in ten 
drops of tincture of muriate of iron in the drinking water. 

Black Rot. 

Causes: This disease is generally caused by want of ex- 
ercise, continued sameness of food, indigestion and want of 
green food. 

Symptoms: Comb turning black, swelling of the feet and 
legs, accompanied by gradual emaciation. 

Treatment: The same as prescribed for indigestion will 
generally prove effective. 

Hernia, or Protrusion of the Egg Passage. 

Causes: It is caused by the exertions of the hen to expel 
an unusually large egg, or in old fowls the general relaxation 
of the system. 

Symptoms: Protrusion of the laying gut of the hen, 
which is forced out to such an extent after laying, that it 
oftentimes does not recede. 

Treatment: Put the hen on diet of rice and boiled pota- 
toes. If the gut shows no indication of receding itself, bathe 
the parts with lukewarm water, and after rubbing the pro- 



48 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

trusion with witch hazel, Unseed or sweet oil, gently press it 
back into the body. Give daily, a pill composed of two 
grains of calomel, one-quarter of a grain of tartar emetic, and 
one grain of opium : the above is for a large fowl, one-half a 
pill will be sufficient for a small bird. Do not give the fowl 
any stimulating food. 

Soft Eggs. 

Causes: Overfeeding and the want of the proper mate- 
rial for the hens to eat so as to form the shell. 

Symptoms: More or less inflammation of the egg passage, 
and the appearance of the egg itself. 

Treatment: Restrain from overfeeding, and place with- 
in reach of the hens plenty of old mortar or crushed oyster 
shells. Where it arises from the inflammation of the egg pas- 
sage, give a bolus of barley containing one grain of calomel 
and a half a grain of tartar emetic. 

Gout, Rheumatism and Cramp. 

Causes: Exposure to cold or wet. or roosting in damp, 
cold houses or places. 

Symptoms: These diseases arising from the same causes 
require the same treatment, though they are of a different 
nature. They consist of inability to use their limbs or feet, 
which oftentimes become swollen and feverish or grow stiff 
and powerless, thereby compelling the bird to sit about, and 
preventing them from roosting on perches. 

Treatment: Remove the bird to a comfortable dry 
place, give plenty of nourishing food, and rub the limbs and 
feet with witch hazel oil, butter, lard, and give twice a day a 
pill composed of half a grain colchicum and a grain of 
opium. 

Leg Weakness. 

Causes: This complaint should not be confounded with 
the previous one. It often arises from the breeding of the 
same strain of fowlsin and for too long a period, but is usually 
caused by too high feeding, which increases the weight of the 
body out of proportion to the muscular strength of the limbs ; 
it more generally occurs in the large breeds, such as Cochins 
and Brahmas, particularly in the cockerels. 



POULTRY DISEASES. 49 

Symptoms: Squatting around on their hocks, after stand- 
ing for a short time, as if tired : in bad cases they are unable 
to stand on their feet at all. 

Treatment: In the early stage give the following pill 
twice or three times a day: One grain of sulphate of iron, 
five grains of phosphate of lime and half a grain of quinine. 

Bumble Foot. 

Causes: This is caused by the birds roosting on a small 
uneven perch, or in flying down from a high one upon a hard 
surface, thereby bruising their feet. It occurs mostly with 
the heavier varieties of fowls. 

Symptoms: It commences with a small swelling or corn 
in the ball of the foot, which enlarges, becomes soft and fin- 
ally ulcerated. 

Treatment: Eemove the bird to a place without perch- 
es. If the foot becomes ulcerated, first wash out the sore 
with castile soap and warm water, then dip the foot in a 
solution of one-fourbh ounce of sulphate of copper to a quart 
of water ; this may be repeated two or three times a day. If 
taken in time a cure may be effected by painting the part with 
iodine. When the tumor is soft or in the form of an abcess, 
puncture it with a knife and press out the matter, after 
which cauterize the part with nitrate of silver. 

Scaly Legs or Elephantiasis. 

Causes: Too close confinement or kept in damp, muddy 
runs, overfeeding, not sufficient meat or green food. The 
disease is said to be infectious. 

Symptoms: The appearance of a whitish scurf which 
forms on the skin of the legs and toes ; if neglected, it be- 
comes hard and warty in appearance. 

Treatment: Keep the bird in a clean place; wash the 
legs clean with soap and water, and when they become dry 
annoint them with lard mixed with sulphur or rub them with 
coal oil : a few applications will generally suffice. 

Bad Moulting. 

Causes: Though moulting may not be classified as a dis- 
ease, it is considered the most critical period of the year for 
old fowls. A greater drain is upon the system of the fowl 



50 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

during its change of feathers than at any other time, as not 
only does the life-giving process of nature have to be sus- 
tained, but an entire new coat has to be grown. But moult- 
ing is generally caused by either too close confinement, im- 
proper food or a constitutional weakness of the fowl, occa- 
sioned by too long in-and-in breeding. 

Symptoms: a general wasting away, inactivity of the 
bird during the time of process of moulting. 

Treatment: Take good care that the fowl is kept warm, 
and not allowed to go in the wet or rain; give soft, warm 
food in the morning, with good grain mixed with hemp seed 
in the evening, also a little chopped meat daily, or bread 
soaked in ale ; also add Our Reliable Tonic to the drinking 
water, a teaspoonful to a pint of water. 

Bad Fledging. 

Causes: The ailment occurs in chicks ; it is very similar 
to moulting in fowls, and it is occasioned principally by the 
same causes, has generally the same symptons, and is allevi- 
ated by the same remedies. 

Chicken Pox. 

Causes; This disease is frequently caused by unfavorable 
conditions of the atmosphere and generally occurs in cold, wet 
weather. It is of an infectious character. 

Symptoms: The head, face or body is covered with small 
ulcers, containing an infectious matter. 

Treatment: First wash with castilesoap, and then with 
a strong solution of chlorate of potash ; also mix a little pul- 
verized charcoal and sulphur in the soft food, about a tea- 
spoonful of each to a pint of meal. Annoint the head with 
''Carbolate of Cosmoline" until cured. 

Frosted Comb and Wattles. 

Causes: Exposure to cold, freezing weather, more par- 
ticularly at night. 

Symptoms: Discoloration of the top of the comb and 
edges of the wattles, which first turn a purplish color and 
afterwards become pale and bloodless. 



POULTRY DISEASES 51 

Treatment: Annoint the parts with the witch hazel 
oil, hathe with cold water, after which apply glycerine and 
"Carbolate of Cosmoline." 

Vermin. 

Causes: Filthiness of quarters, foul nests, want of earth 
baths. 

Symptoms: General wasting away, with a constant peck- 
ing and scratching of the body. 

Treatment: Clean out and fumigate the hen house by 
closing it up tight and burning sulphur therein ; make new 
nests, with a dust bath mixed with powdered carbolate of 
lime, also put into the roots of the feathers of the fowls 
Persian insect powder, and if the bird appears suffering from 
debility, treat it the same as already prescribed. 

Douglas Mixture. 

"Douglas Mixture" is made thus: Take of sulphate of iron 
( common copperas ), 8 ounces ; sulphuric acid, } fluid ounce. 
Put into a bottle or jug one gallon of water, into this put the 
sulphate of iron. As soon as the iron is dissolved add the acid, 
and when it is clear, the "mixture" is ready for use. 

In hot weather, or when the flock is small, less may be pre- 
pared at once, but the above proportion should be observed. 
This "mixture"' or tonic should be given in the drinking 
water every other day — a gill for every twenty-five head is 
not too much — and where there is infection it must be used 
every day, but where there is no disease, not so often, or in 
smaller quantities if it be used every day. 

This preparation, simple as it is, is one of the best tonics 
for poultry known. It is alterative as well as tonic, and pos- 
sesses, beside, antiseptic properties which make it a remedy 
as well as a tonic. 

Contagious Diseases. 

Colds, roup, diphtheria are highly catching, and such cases 
should at once be isolated. Birds suffering from diarrhoea or 
cholera should be parted also, as they make the ground very 
unhealthy for the other stock. The slightest ailment should 
at first he treated as contagious and isolation effected. When 



OZ RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

the nature of the complaint is discovered, treat accordingly. 
Doctoring poultry is most troublesome and very expensive ; 
revention is better than cure. 

Crowding. 

One of the commonest evils, and fatal to success. Most 
amateurs go in for several breeds of poultry. Would advise 
starting with one or two breeds at first. The birds may be 
kept in comparative comfort during the winter months, but 
in the breeding season when the chickens begin to come, and 
in August, when pullets have to be separated from cockerels, 
and these again in October kept separate from adult hens— 
when these also have to be parted from their mates, and exhi- 
bition birds require each their roomy and separate pen — it is 
impossible to rear many breeds successfully, each having its 
perfect exhibition specimen. For this, space is a matter of 
necessity. 

Dampness. 

Dampness in poultry-houses is especially injurious to 
health. Care should be taken to stop all leakage, and to in- 
sure dry sleeping places. Birds will bear being out on a grass- 
run on the wettest days better than being housed in a damp 
place. Carelessness in this respect is the source of colds, in- 
flammation of the stomach and liver disease, and is apt to 
develop scrofulous deposits should the strain be weakly in 
any way. 

Dropping Eggs. 

This is caused by too stimulating diet, also by want of 
lime, oyster-shells or grit for shell formation, also by the 
hens being too fat. Feed less, give no meat for a time, vary 
the diet with rice, potatoes and wheat. Give a dose or two 
of castor oil, and iron tonic in the water. Should this not 
cure the evil, give one grain of calomel and one-twelfth grain 
of tartar emetic. 

Dusting. 

Poultry are in the habit of cleaning themselves in dry 
dust, mortar, rubbish or ashes by scartching the dust up 
in their feathers. This keeps them in health, and prevents 
vermin. Provide a dust bath for the purpose — a good large 
box with sides about a toot high filled with dust, dry screened 



POULTRY DISEASES. 53 

mortar refuse, road scrapings, fine gravel or sand, or let the 
whole sheltered run be 'covered deep in the above, in which 
case no special bath is necessary. Hens are wretched if this 
absolute necessity for their comfort is not studied. The dust 
bath, however, has its dangers in the case of hens with newly 
hatched broods. 

Bone Dust. 

Very beneficial for the feeding of growing birds up to five 
or six months of age ; a preventative of weak legs and diar- 
rhoea ; an aid also in postponing the development of young 
birds, while it provides materials needful for continuous 
growth, and gives strength and size to the frame. It should 
be about the fineness of coarse oatmeal, and should be sifted 
into and with the meals used, in the proportion of three 
ounces to the pound. Fresh bones chopped and pounded, or 
burnt bones, are not so useful for the above purposes as they 
are for laying stock or for birds of an age for exhibition. 

Hereditary Diseases and Evils. 

Consumption is the disease most carefully to be guarded 
against. A consumptive strain will be a constant source of 
care and dissappointment. Squirrel tail is sure to be repro- 
duced in many of the young birds. Wry tail is also heredi- 
tary. Crooked breasts, thumb marks on combs or any 
peculiarity in the spikes of the comb, white face where red 
is the proper color, is dangerously hereditary, ear-lobes 
splashed or marked with red where pure white is a point, 
vulture hock, all these defects will be reproduced. Birds 
with malformations or anything missing, such as being short 
a toe, or having any peculiarities, should not be used for 
breeding. 

Hospital. 

Every poultry yard in which, say, even 100 birds are reared 
yearly, should be provided with a place specially devoted to 
penning sick birds, where an invalid can be at once isolated 
and properly doctored. This place must be open to the sun, 
screened from the east wind, dust dry, freely ventilated, yet 
free from draught, and warm. The hospital should be white- 
washed with hot lime frequently, and perfect cleanliness 
maintained. 



54 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Pullets not Laying. 

If they are over six months old they are either over-fed, 
which can be ascertained by feeling their condition and weigh- 
ing, or under-fed. If pullets are much exhibited and the 
runs often changed, this will prevent egg production. Should 
the birds be thin, give meat and a little stimulant, such as 
buckwheat and sunflower seed ; if fat, reduce diet and give 
an aperient. Constant exhibiting is very fatal to laying. 

Early Opening of Houses. 

This has much to do with health, and if birds that rise 
with the sun are shut up in close, ill-ventilated roosting- 
places till 7 or 8 a. m., no success will attend the mismanag- 
ing owner. The roosting house should open into a covered 
run, which the birds can enter at their own free will, to find 
a little food and to amuse themselves till the attendant 
comes his rounds, which he must do in summer at 6 a. m. 

To Prevent Laying. 

Birds for show have, at times, to be kept back. They 
are in show form just when they begin to lay, and never look 
so well after. If they are early and you wish to delay laying, 
and so prolong the period of growth, move the pullets about 
from one run to another. 

Slipped Wing. 

This chiefly occurs with fast-growing cockerels and duck- 
lings. The primary feathers, which are naturally tucked up 
out of sight, stick or trail out ; the bird has no power to tuck 
them up. Should the same feathers stick out and appear 
twisted, so that the inside of the quill is outside, it is 
probably an hereditary evil. In the first instance, it fre- 
quently occurs from a number of cocks being kept together, 
giving rise to some ill treatment, constant racing about and 
nervous flapping of the wings ; these being soft and delicate 
as yet, the birds fail to fold them in closely, and a habit is 
acquired of letting them hang down out of place. Tucking 
them up into place when the bird is asleep at night is some- 
times effectual. But the best way is to sew a band around the 



POULTRY DISEASES. 55 

wing- feathers near the shoulder, and attach this to another 
which is passed round the joint of the wing, to prevent it 
slipping off. It is work of patience and difficulty. 

Fresh Blood. 

If birds are bred in-and-in too closely, many evils will 
ensue— loss of size, fewer eggs will be laid and a general want 
of stamina will be observable. It is well, therefore, oc- 
casionally to purchase a cock from one of the best yards, and 
if it is for show purposes, ascertain the pedigree and if 
possible see the pen from which he was hatched. It is the 
easiest thing in the world to introduce a glaring defect into 
your flock, and one of the most difficult to breed a fault out. 
Where birds are kept in separate runs and pens the produce 
for the following year or two will not be so nearly related as 
to require invigorating by fresh blood : in fact any large 
breeder of a well-known strain will be very shy of introducing 
new stock for any purpose. By a wise system of crossing and 
separation, thoroughly unrelated birds can be kept ready to 
hand for the mating season. 

Feather Eating, 

A horrid practice, one might almost calladisease, to which 
fowls brought up in confinement are liable, which dirt and 
crowding encourage. Idleness is one cause ; poultry are often 
kept in a pen where they have no means of scratching about 
or amusing themselves. The earth should be forked up, 
thrown into heaps, and straw thrown'over it- This will give 
occupation and tend to arrest the evil. Want of fresh water 
is another source of the disease ; the water should be replen- 
ished often, and kept in the shade. Cabbages tied up whole 
and tightly to the wall of pens will amuse and serve to pass 
the time, and a piece of meat hung up just within reach will 
be useful. Should any birds be so injured as to have the 
stumps of feathers bleeding, those must be pulled out by the 
roots, and the tender places annointed with a salve of vaseline 
mixed with carbolic acid, ten grains to the ounce. This will 
be healing and at the same time unpalatable to the offending 
birds. Lettuce in large quantities should be given. Linseed 
made into a mash with pollards, boiled to a jelly, is excellent 



50 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

for the deranged system. If the case is desperate, give daily 
an eighth to a fourth grain of acetate of morphia. The of- 
fending bird should be removed from the run. 

To Secure Early Laying. 

Hatch early, and do not move pullets about to various 
runs when they are maturing. Do not depend on old hens, 
but on March pullets, kept in warm quarters, fed on meat 
and plenty of green food. Occasional treats of bread soaked in 
ale, hot, and our "Poultry Tonic" mixed in the food and 
given hot at daybreak, will hasten the filling of the winter 
egg-basket. 

Laying Mixtures. 

There are many mixtures and condiments advertised in 
the poultry journals daily which have the effect of stimulat- 
ing the hen's laying powers, if desired, but few should be 
used, as many are prejudicial. If the above diet is kept too, 
the birds must lay ; if they do not, either suspect and look 
out for rats or egg-eating hens in the flock, or a need of pad- 
locks to the laying-pens. 

Cooking Food for Poultry. 

A little trouble in this respect will be amply repaid in the 
poultry yard. Every establishment where 100 head of poul- 
try are kept should have its lock-up food store-room, and if a 
stove can be put up its help is invaluable. House-scraps 
can be regularly brought out to the food-house hot from the 
kitchen by 8 a. m., and with boiling (not cold) water let 
meals of all sorts in turn be mixed with the scraps till it 
forms a crumbling mass. All food for ducklings is better 
given warm than cold ; chickens also appreciate their milk 
and their porridge with the chill off. Liver given raw is not 
palatable, but if put in water over the stove for ten minutes, 
and chopped hot, and thrown to the birds in pellets, it is 
greedily devoured, and more good is got out of it. Grain 
baked in the oven dry, and given warm to the birds, is very 
good in the winter time. 

Fighting. 

Extreme care should be taken to prevent this amongst 
show-birds, as five minutes' sparring may upset all chance of 



POULTRY DISEASES. o7 

a special or prize by injury to comb or feathers. Xail up 
cloth to all partitions eighteen to twenty-four inches high : 
this prevents all danger. In cold weather a severe fight may 
be serious. If the birds are ailing after it, put nitric acid in 
the water sufficient to taste it, and give a capsule of cod- 
liver oil with quinine thrice daily. Slip a raw egg down the 
bird's throat now and then till vigor is restored. 

Tonics. 

Parrish's Chemical Food : For chickens, fifteen drops 
three times a day. or, if given in drinking water, two tea- 
spoonfuls to a pint. 

Douglas Mixture (see directions). 

Quinine and iron tonic (citrate of quinine and iron), four 
grains to an adult fowl daily. 

Sulphuric acid, ten drops, and sulphate of iron, a piece 
the size of a filbert, in a quart of water for drinking. 

Tincture of iron, one teaspoonf ul in a quart of water. 

Tsitric acid acts on the liver and is a tonic. Of the dilute 
acid, four drops in a teaspoonful of water three times a day, 
or ten drops of strong acid in a quart of water for drinking. 

Handling Fowls. 

If you catch a bird, leaving its wings free, a desperate 
struggle will ensue, likely to injure exhibition plumage, or to 
distract a broody hen from her vocation. Approach the bird 
from behind, place both hands firmly and quickly over the 
wing joints, then slip the right hand down and secure the 
legs firmly. All fluttering will thus be avoided, and the bird, 
held by the legs with the left hand, will not offer resistance. 
All catching and handling of fowls should be done at night, 
or after first making the pen dark, if this is feasible. 

Washing Exhibition Birds. 

Get two tubs, fill the smaller one with a good lather of 
soap water (for one bird half a pound of white soap is suffi- 
cient); stand the bird in the lather and wash it, using a 
softish hair brush, and with it your hand. Thoroughly brush 
and cleanse the feathers everywhere, leaving no spot un- 
touched, and don't be afraid of wetting thoroughly. Use no 
half measures, and take care not to bend or brush the feathers 



58 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

the wrong way. This done, having prepared warm water 
in the larger and deeper tub, dip the bird in and out freely 
and thoroughly rinse every vestige of lather out ; lastly, take 
a can of merely chilled water (may be very slightly tinted with 
blue for white birds) and pour this over the bird, drain and 
dry as far as you can in a Turkish towel, place the bird in an 
exhibition coop and set it at a comfortable distance from the 
Are. As the bird dries and fluffs out, gradually draw away 
from the fire. Leave the birds all night in a warm kitchen, 
and next morning place them in their own preparing pen. 
which, meantime, has been laid deep in fresh straw. Let 
them rest here for twenty-four hours, or twelve at any rate, 
before the journey, otherwise a risk of cold is incurred. 
After the bath, when still wet, give a teaspoonful of wine, 
and later a meal of bread and meat scraps, which are grate- 
fully devoured as a rule ; by and by a handful of wheat as a 
treat cast in the straw will tempt them to scratch for it. A 
moist warm atmosphere must be kept up in the drying coop, 
or the feathers will not web properly; place water within 
reach, and add to it a little tonic. 

If the birds are not drying properly, try and turn them so 
that the heat will strike all sides equally. Hard-feathered 
birds, such as Andalusians, Brown Leghorns, Malays, Domin- 
iques, Game, Black Spanish, do not require so much washing. 
White birds and Asiatics demand the greater care. 

Feeding for Exhibition. 

Birds for show should be brought up as directed on page 
60, and then about three weeks before exhibition special diet 
should be given : fresh meat once a day, a piece the size of a 
walnut; plenty of green food, and twice a week linseed, 
boiled in water to a jelly. This is much liked, and will lay 
on flesh and produce gloss on feathers. Bread and milk is ex- 
cellent for birds that are going to or returning from a show : 
a few handfuls of hemp at odd times, and best wheat, will 
get the birds into grand order. 

Treatment After Exhibition. 

On the arrival of birds from an exhibition, feed them on 
soft and (if cold weather) warm food, containing a little of 
mil " Poultry Tonic;" give a very little water containing a 



POULTRY DISEASES. 59 

tonic. See that they are housed very warm. If they are 
shortly due at another show, give bread and milk for one 
meal daily, and rice and milk with meat. If the crop is 
loaded with Indian corn, feed very sparingly, even of soft 
food, at first, and if it feels hard, give a teaspoonful of gin 
on arrival ; it will aid digestion. 

Ventilation 

Is a neglected but most important subject. Poultry 
houses are often either draughty or they are unventilated ; 
if the first, the birds are always uncomfortable, and a late 
egg supply, owing to cold housing, will be the result ; if the 
latter, serious disease will follow, such as diphtheria, or the 
birds will be dull, without appetite, the wings will droop, up- 
right combs will get blue at the tips, and fall over limp and 
flabby. Beside the door entrance, every roosting-house 
should have a window, which can be left open on hot nights, 
a wire screen of small mesh should be placed over it to keep 
out enemies ; in the winter a piece of perforated zinc is pre- 
ferable, as it prevents the wind rushing in, and yet gives 
enough air. If a window is not practicable, a hole under the 
eaves will answer, covered with zinc wire. The higher up 
ventilating openings are made the better. Foul air rises, and 
openings must be made or the fowls will suffer. Ventilating 
holes should be drilled in all artificial mothers, dryers and 
shelters ; foul air generates very quickly where chickens 
congregate. 

To Hasten Moulting. 

Pen up, cocks apart from from hens, in a warm place, deep 
with sand and mortar siftings. Keep them very warm at 
night ; the older the bird the warmer it should be kept. The 
process of moulting takes about two months, but at times 
much less, Food should be given warm, very little at a time, 
and not stimulating when first penned up ; then generous 
diet, and in a gallon of drinking water put sulphate of iron 
the size of two filberts and ten drops of sulphuric acid. 
Non-sitting hens can be hurried on by taking away all stim- 
ulating food and placing them in a fresh house. As soon as 
moult begins, feed well. Should birds moult too slowly, and 
look ailing, give two or three one grain doses of calomel, a 
dose of jalap, soft food and meat. The Spanish breeds moult 



60 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

late and hard ; birds with shabby feathers in July cannot be 
ready in time for September exhibition. If required early 
they must be preserved from injury, for moult cannot be hur- 
ried so early in the season. Meat, green food, with warm 
housing at night, will bring all birds comfortably through 
the moulting season. If the shaft of the new feathers seem 
to stick on too long, not splitting open freely, more stimulat- 
ing food should be allowed, such as meat, linseed and hemp. 

Treatment of Show Birds. 

Hatched in the three first months of the year, they must 
be well fed and housed, and yet allowed perfect freedom on 
grass runs wherever fine and dry. Soft food should have 
bone-dust mixed with it, and the meals should be ample and 
frequent, but never so large as to remain uneaten and to set 
sour. Meat and green food should be given in plenty. At 
from three to four months the cockerels should be separated 
from the pullets : no crowding, no want of cleanliness should 
be allowed, and no roughing it in bad weather, or the feath- 
ers will be soiled. These must be kept spotlessly clean and 
fresh, and care must be taken that no rough wire or ill-made 
doors, or awkward perches injure the plumage, on which 
prizes to a great extent depend. Three weeks before the 
show, pen the birds, cock and pullet, separately, giving each 
a friendly companion of their own sex ; feed on bread and 
milk, wheat, and two or thrc times a week give linseed ; boil 
to a jelly and mix in oat-meal till it is friable: this will gloss 
the plumage. Also give barley-meal, buckwheat, a little 
hemp and meat. Let the pens ba deep in fresh straw, and 
see that the dust-baths are very clean. Two days before the 
show give night and morning a meal of rice boiled in milk, 
stiff, and plenty of wheat. A little meat chopped into the 
rice is much enjoyed. Rice is to prevent any chance of 
cliarrh(ea in the show pens, which entail extra soiling of the 
plumage. Green food should be given in plenty, preferably 
grass, lettuce and spinach. Forty-eight hours before show- 
ing, wash the birds if need be. Feed as above until an hour 
before starting. Lastly, wash the comb, face, etc., with soap 
and water, dry, and rub over with vinegar : give each bird a 
teaspoonful of wine— they will then sleep instead of fretting 
on the journey. Inside the hamper, at the side, tie the top of 
a loaf of bread soaked in port wine, and a head of lettuce, to 



POULTRY DISEASES. 61 

pick at ; this will bring them in good condition to the show- 
pen. If shown in pairs, do not omit, three days before the 
show, to give the cock or cockerel a hen in his pen, but not 
one which is to be exhibited. He will then not take much 
notice when the show pullet is introduced into the exhibition 
hamper, which should be done about three hours before the 
train leaves to insure that no fighting occurs. 

General Treatment of Chickens. 

During the first twenty- four hours- give no food, and re- 
move, till all are hatched, from the hen or incubator to a box 
having ventilating holes bored in the side, and a hot-water 
bottle slung by means of coarse flannel, so that the chicks 
may feel the warmth and the least pressure on their backs. 
When all are hatched, cleanse the nest completely, and well 
dredge the hen's body with insect powder : give her the 
chicks and place chopped egg and bread-crumbs within 
reach. The less they are disturbed during the first two or 
three days the better. 

Warmth is essentia], aud a constantly brooding hen is a 
better mother than one which fusses the infant chicks about 
and keeps calling them too feed. Pen the hen in a coop and 
let the chicks have free egress. The best place to stand the 
coop is under sheltered runs, guarded from cold winds, the 
ground dry and deep in sand and mortar siftings. Further 
warmth is unnecessary if the mothers are good: and if the 
roof is of glass, so as to secure every ray of sun, so much the 
better. Cleanliness of coops, beds, flooring, water vessels and 
food-tins must be absolute. The oftener the chicks are fed 
the better, but food must never be left uneaten. Water must 
be made safe, or drowning and chills may be expected. The 
moment weather permits, free range on grass for several 
hours daily is desirable, but shelter should always be at hand. 

Diet: Tbe longer the supply of hard-boiled eggs chopped 
fine is kept up, the better. As the birds get on, every kitchen 
scrap is invaluable, and the following mixtures may be given 
for meals in turn as convenient, variety being essential for 
success: 1st meal, as early as possible— 6 a. m.— egg chopped, 
mixed bread crumbs; 2d meal, kitchen scraps chopped fine 
in a wooden chopper, given warm, and mixed to a crumbling 
mass; 3d meal, rice boiled in milk, and dried up crumbly 
with Scotch oatmeal; 4th meal, barley-meal mixed crumbly 



62 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

with the liquor in which meat has been boiled; 5th meal, 
meat chopped fine and bread reduced to crumbs (not nec- 
essary daily). These preparations given in turn and with 
judgment will, with occasional handfuls of small, dry grain 
and barley and buckwheat baked with water in the oven, give 
the chickens all that is necessary for building up the strong 
framework which is essential to a fine-developed bird. The 
use of bone dust must be omitted, and a constant supply of green 
food, together with mortar, oyster-shell, gravel and all man- 
ner of grit and dust should be insured. Pure water, never 
left to stagnate or freeze or to get hot in the sun, and if pos- 
sible, milk occasionally, will render the diet perfect. Chicks so 
kept, the quantity given being increased with their size and 
appetite, will be found at four months, or, at any rate, at five, 
to be fit for table without the unhealthy and unpleasant pro- 
cess of cramming. If destined for the show-pen, they will be 
ready to "go in" for the further care and preparation needed 
for exhibition. At this age cockerels must be divided from 
pullets, and the chicken period may be considered over. 

Feeding. 

Hours for Feeding: 6 a. m.— Give warm, soft food, as 
much as will be picked up greedily. Let the birds follow the 
feeder out of the pens, asking for more, leaving none on the 
ground. 

Food for Adult Birds: Scraps from the house chopped 
up and mixed dry with barley or oatmeal boiled in water or 
pot liquor, not mixed too wet, but in a crumbling mass. In 
all cooked or soft food the addition of a little of "Our Poul- 
try Tonic" will be found very beneficial, as it tones up and 
strengthens the digestive organs. It is especially good for 
young chicks that are feathering out fast, as it helps them 
to sustain the severe drain on their system. At noon give a 
little grain, just to amuse and occupy, thrown amongst the 
straw. In the evening the meal should be timed so as to take 
place just before roosting-time. It is most important not to 
send the birds to bed empty. Grain should be given, about a 
handful to each bird, or even less if it is not picked up clean. 
To produce eggs, feed bullock's liver, sheep's pluck or meat to 
each fowl. Ground red pepper also promotes laying, if mixed 
with the food. Notice that birds always refuse food which 
has fallen on or near manure ; therefore avoid crowding, and 



POULTRY DISEASES. 63 

see that you have a thoroughly clean spot on which to spread 
the food. The adult fowl, whether kept for breeding or lay- 
ing purposes must not be fattened. 

Foretelling Sex of Chicks. 

No rule can be laid down about this, and the shape of the 
egg has nothing to do with it. Early broods bring most 
cocks, late broods the pullets. This is generally the case, 
but no rule is reliable. 




It will keep you posted 



64 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



Hatching Ghickerjs in Incubators. 



BY UK. T. B. SPAULOING. 



-y y hen incubation is ended — that is, when the 
/ \ mass of life within the egg has, by its circula- 

\ g tion and inherent heat and vital electric life, 

^k \J absorbed all the moisture and all the animal 
matter in the egg, and left only the lime, that 
cracks or pips at point of sharpest pressure, when thus, the egg 
is hatched, comparative physiology affirms, and your own dis- 
section may confirm, that the chick is yet unfinished. I 
mean by this, its digestive apparatus is yet unprepared to re- 
ceive supplies of food. The instinct of the hen is so unerr- 
ing and so adapted to the essential requirements of the 
chick, that for four and twenty hours she seldom stirs, nor 
<i tiers to feed her young. During this important interim the 
yolk that yet remains within the chick is rapidly absorbed, 
and this, like the first imperfect milk of the mammal 
mother, affords the only and all-sufficient food that nature 
intended for these delicate digestive organs. 

The first essential duty, then, that devolves upon the arti- 
ficial father of a flock of little chicks is not to force their feed, 
but wait with intelligent assurance that nature's resources 
are operative yet; and from its earliest breath digestion 
starts, and life, health, growth and strength are all sustained 
full thirty hours by this absorbing yolk. The chick is then 
prepared for food — its little laboratory is chemically com- 
plete and ready to receive only what it can convert most 
readily to blood, flesh and bone. 

The dietics of infancy has always been to me a theme for 
pleasant and most fruitful thought. The ability to battle 
well or else encounter all the ills and cares of every life de- 
pend in largest measure on the power derived from easy, 
strong digestion. 



HATCHING CHICKENS IN INCUBATORS. 65 

Warmth. 

flemember the fact that feed is not your first essential 
work in caring for your incubator brood. The germination 
and the growth within the egg, and every after chemical and 
vital agency concerned in early chicken life depend upon high 
temperature. This constitutes the first and great command- 
ment— never let your little chicks get chilled. The subtle chem- 
ical, physiological, nutritive changes (which terms imply an 
act essentially the same) are all carried on under high tem- 
perature. " Vital temperature " means that degree of heat 
wherein the nutrient changes are most perfectly and pleas- 
antly performed. Lower the temperature that surrounds any 
young existence, and you check their essential nutritive changes 
and so disorder their nutrition and beget disease and death. 

Health is the perfect harmony of nutritious changes or 
physiological ease. A departure from health is a disturbed nu- 
tritive change or physiological disease. It is, therefore, 
plain that heat is consistent with life, while cold is in the di- 
rection of death. The young chick, if allowed to become 
chilled during the first thirty hours, will check the absorption 
of its yelk, and so end its existence. 

The Nursery. 

In the light which physical science thus affords, we find 
that cold engenders innutrition and innutrition is the essence 
of all disease. Our first essential duty, then, is to keep the 
young chicks warm until nutrition starts and sustains their 
growth, and the growth and strength strengthens, in turn, 
nutrition. With this end in view you need a chicken nur- 
sery. Select a site exposed alike to eastern and southern 
sunshine, then build an earthen bed full 1 foot high, 18 feet 
wide and about 100 feet long; about 5 feet from either outer- 
edge and about 8 feet apart, put down 2 rows of tile, running 
parallel the whole 100 feet ; cover these with moistened clay 
or mud about 6 inches deep, and over this top-dress 6 inches 
deep with sand. Now build a furnace at each diagonal end of 
the tile and a chimney at each other end, and then you have 
at once a furnace and foundation for your infant poultry nur- 
sery. ISTow build the habitation large and light, and per 



(>(i RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

fectly impervious to wind and water, and thus you have the 
cosiest and cheapest chicken nursery that genius can con- 
trive. 

Let heat be regulated by a thermostate, which, when the 
temperature ascends above a definite degree, will open a 
valve and let in air. Such an edifice wili cost about $300, and 
can easily accommodate 3,000 chicks. 

How to Feed. 

This fixed (before the chicks are hatched), we place them 
in the dry and tempered sand and find them all content. 
And now, what shall we feed ? First, and better than all 
things else, feed dry crumbled wheaten bread. The second 
day feed warm sweet milk and bread; alternate these two 
feeds with bread thus crumbed and mixed in equal parts 
with hard-boiled eggs; continue in turn, and add to thfse, 
after the first three days, crushed wheat, fed dry— especially 
this at night. Milk curd — well drained — at any time is ele- 
gant, but bear in mind that chicks do best on frequent 
change from each to every other diet here prescribed. Feed 
sparingly and often, and early in the morning. For break- 
fast give them warm beef soup, peppered and mixed with 
bread. It is best to make this soup the afternoon before. 
Place one or two beef heads, cut up in chunks, in some con- 
venient cooking place, and allow three buckets of water to 
each head, and thus you have six buckets of soup and the 
tender meat, which will last a long time and cost but ten or 
fifteen cents. Potatoes may be boiled with this, thus mak- 
ing the finest morning meal, hot, generous and far healthier 
than anything nature ever offered. After the first ten days, 
whole wheat and corn, crushed fine, either with any or all the 
other food, or fine crushed corn, fed dry, and wheat, will 
carry them fast and finely on. 

Boiled eggs, too freely fed, will constipate and kill young 
chicks, and must be mixed with bread. Sour milk is safe and 
fine for young chicks ever after the first ten days. Never 
feed a chick or fowl cornmeal dough. It generates the gapes, 
either through fermentation, indigestion or some other un- 
known way; it breeds and brings about myriads of long, 
red and crooked little worms, which fill their little throats 
and choke the young chicks to death. Dampness and dough 
will always do this work. 1 think these wicked little worms 



HATCHING CHICKENS IN INCUBATORS. 



67 



are children of innutrition. As festering wounds imbed the 
ova, and so bring forth bacteria; as corn too long and freely 
fed to hogs, exclusive of other diet, startles mankind with all 
the perils of trichinia; as corn bread breeds the lumbricoia 
and other worms in childhood, so dough, when fed to chicks. 
engenders irritative indigestion; and membranes thus dis- 
eased afford a tempting nest for floating atmospheric fungi 
— the smallest forms of unseen animal existence — whence 
the ova breed and bring forth bacteria and kindred kinds of 
all the interminable train of crawling insect life. Feed all 
food to chickens dry. Avoid all dew and damp and cold 
wind, and remember that innutrition is the essence of all dis- 
ease, and that every epidemic since the world began, either 
with poultry or with man, had its start and gained its im- 
pulse and power in famine and filth. Be clean, and feed as 
herein taught, and nature's claims are met, and scarcely a 
chick will die. 



If you K $0U- AR 

4 




at the old methods of farming, or if your fruit and stock in- 
vestments do not give ample returns, why not try your hand 
at poultry culture? It is a pleasant and profitable calling, 
and the Reliable Incubator & Brooder Company, of Quincy, 
can furnish you with a perfect equipment for every depart- 
ment. Others have been successful in this line, who not 
you ? It is well worth a trial. 



RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



How to Oapomze. 



What are Capons ? 

Capons are aptly termed the " finest chicken meat 
in the world," for there is nothing growing feathers, 
their equal or superior. A capon is neither rooster 
or hen — it is nothing else than a capon. After 
removing the testicles from the cockerel, its nature 
becomes entirely changed. They take on a more rapid growth, 
are more tame, awkward in carriage and always exceedingly 
lazy, take on a very heavy and beautiful plumage, the comb 
and wattles cease to grow, the spurs do not develop as in the 
cockerel, and being cast off by both rooster and hen soon show 
a fondness for the society of little chicks. To these they will 
act as mother, covering them with their heavy plumage at 
night or leading them about during the day. In France this 
is extensively practiced, the capon taking the place of the 
mother in rearing chicks, while the mother, unfettered by 
the cares of her feathered family, becomes a layer only. 
France is the foremost nation on the globe for bringing much 
out of little. That they universally practice caponizing is a 
proof of the large and successful results to be derived from 
this operation. The Rural New Yorker says : 

"The flesh of capons is decidedly sweeter and of finer 
flavor than that of cocks. They gain from two to four pounds 
in weight, while the cost of feeding is no more. If the farmer 
could once get a taste of capon, there would be a great re- 
duction in the number of roosters on his place. After capons 
have once been introduced into a market, there will be a 
great demand for them. Any large breed will make fine cap- 
ons. The operation can be performed at any age, but from 
two to six months gives the best results. I do not see that 
the birds suffer any pain after the first incision, They lie 
motionless unless you touch their heads. To show how little 
people in general know about caponizing, I can relate a fact 



HOW TO CAPONIZE. 69 

that came under my observation. At a poultry farm where I 
was visiting, a lady called and examined some capons. When 
told what they were, she said they were splendid birds, and 
asked the proprietor to be sure and send her a setting of their 
eggs. It made considerable laughter after her departure." 

Caponizing. 

There is always a pre-eminent object in departing from the 
ordinary, and caponizing has this object. The wise farmer, 
looking to assured future profit, sees far more weight in the 
steer than in the bull. Castration makes the wonderful in- 
crease, and in just the same proportion does this apply to the 
cock and capon. In poultry raising ( as in all other enter- 
prises ), the most successful results from certain lines are 
aimed at, and it is over the threshold of this highly import- 
ant point that the capon has stepped, opening up certainties 
never before dreamed of by the most sanguine. " What shall 
we do with our cockerels? " has ever been a perplexing ques- 
tion to the poultry raiser, as in a great many of the settings 
hatched, the male predominates. Chasing about the yard, 
worrying the hens, continually spoiling for a fight and cut- 
ting all kinds of capers in general, the cockerel loses his flesh 
almost as rapidly as gained, displays a voracious appetite, and 
in the end proves the cost of keeping to be far more than the 
price he brings in the market. This is very discouraging to 
the poultry raiser, and after a careful figuring of accounts he 
considers the " game hardly worth the candle." 

In caponizing, all these troubles are swept away— the erst- 
while fighting cockerel becomes docile as a chick. Instead 
of chasing about the yard, he keeps his own company and 
spends each day in quiet living. Without the draw-back of 
physical exertion the flesh rapidly increases, the bones add 
weight to weight, and where, under the old way, a farmer 
would kill an ordinary looking cockerel of but little weight, 
he now dresses for market a bird rivaling the turkey in size 
and weight, whose flesh in flavor is superior to that of the 
spring broiler and as tender and juicy. Caponizing solves the 
problem of disposing of a large number of cockerels whose 
diminutive sizes are small inducements to the dealer. Capon- 
ize the chicks and you have at once laid the foundation for a 
handsome profit in a short time to come. Outside of the car- 
dinal points of profit, the simplicity of the operation ( when 



,il RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

proper instruments are used ) recommends itself to everyone. 
A boy ten years old can readily perform the operation, and 
everyone can soon become expert. 

Profit in Capons. 

To the poultry raiser we would say we know of no source 
of profit bringing larger returns for the outlay than raising 
capons, the profit, in agreat majority of cases being over 100 
per cent. The question of assured profit is an all-convincing 
argument in any line, and pre-eminently so to the poultry- 
man whose losses are added to from various unlooked for 
sources. As an illustration : Ordinary dressed poultry in the 
market will bring from ten to fifteen cents per pound. 
Capons readily sell from twenty to thirty cents per pound. 
When we take into consideration that their cost is no more- 
even if as much— than the cockerel we readily see the 
enormous profits derived from canonizing. Not many years 
ago the practice of caponizing was very little known in the 
United States. To-day it is extensively practiced among 
poultry raisers throughout the country, a growth convincing 
in itself of the great profits derived therefrom. We have 
given this matter of profit close attention for along time 
and find the results in all cases highly satisfactory. It is now 
an established fact that equally as fine capons can be raised 
in the north, west or south as in New Jersey. They can be 
successfully grown anywhere. New Jersey being the poineer 
state in which capons were raised in this country, and owing 
to the fame attached to the bird, this has given that state an 
enviable prominence to outside poultrymen. Now, nearly 
every state sends its capons to market. The live poultry- 
man is not slow when looking to his best interests. 

Large Demand for Capons. 

The better a good article becomes known the greater the 
demand, and capons are no exception to this rule. It seems 
impossible to meet this demand. As the practice of caponiz- 
ing grows and as the birds come to market in greater num- 
bers, in greater proportion the demand increases. In Feb- 
ruary and March it is hard to find a capon in the market. 
This should not be, particularly when it is possible to have 
them at any time in the year, and when the supply falls far 



HOW TO CAPONrZE. 71 

short just at- the time when it would seem that other poultry 
could take the place of them. This conclusively shows what a 
field is open to the capon raiser. February and March is the 
season of the year when most capons are placed on the 
market, and yet it is hard to And them there. The reason is 
quite obvious — they are caught up at once at large prices. 
Ordinary chicken meat has no show with the capon. The 
public is fast learning this fact, and where a capon is to 
be had no other fowl will suffice. This causes all far-seeing 
poultry raisers to put on their thinking-caps with the result 
that they at once begin to cater to this demand, increasing 
their income 100 per cent thereby. The field is open to 
everyone. You can do it. Have you tried ? 

Philadelphia Capons. 

On the bill of fare of the finest hotels, not only in Phila- 
delphia, but throughout the United States and Canada, may 
be seen this item, "Philadelphia capons." That the bird is so 
designated, does not for one moment mean that Phila- 
delphia raises all the finest capons. There always has been a 
great demand for capons in that city — a demand far ahead of 
the supply. The neighboring poultry raisers and those for 
miles around have been quick to see this, and their birds have 
poured into that market. Philadelphia has had almost 
exclusive control of the capon market in that section, all 
shipments being made to that point. Hence the name of 
"Philadelphia capons." Philadelphia was the pioneer city 
for raising capons, and as the fame of the bird spread, it 
naturally took on the name of its marketing center. 

Directions for Caponizing. 

From twenty-four to thirty hours before performing the 
operation select such cockerels as you intend to caponize 
( these should be from two to four months old ), confining 
them in a clean and airy coop or room without either food or 
water. The best time to confine them is at early morning, as 
their long fast will then end about noon of the following day, 
at which time the operation is best performed. Should the 
day be cloudy or wet, do not caponize them, but let the opera- 
tion go until you have a bright and fair day. It is necessary 
that you have all light possible in the matter. If it be a 



72 RELIABLE TOULTKY MANUAL. 

cloudy day. and you decide not to caponize, the birds may be 
given a little water and food if necessary, but it is much 
better to avoid this if possible, as it is very desirable to have 
their intestines quite empty, thus allowing their testicles to 
be more readily seen, besides giving the operator much more 
room in which to perform his work. Lay the bird on the 
operating table ( this table is fully described elsewhere in the 



Fig. 1. Cords (or holding fowl. 

book) on its left side. Wrap the cord Fig. 1, twice around 
the bird's legs above the knees. In making one wrap only 
there is danger of the bird's kicking themselves out of the 
loop. Hook the other cord once around both his wings close 
to the body. To the opposite end to these cords attach a half 
brick or some equal weight letting them hang over the sides 
of the. table. This holds the bird securely. Have all your 
instruments in readiness that you may work quickly. Thread 
the canula. Fig. 5, with a strong and long horse-hair or fine 
steel wire I we think wire the best ). letting the wire form a 
loop at the curve end and well out at the other end. Now, 



Fig. 2. Knife for making cut. 

after slightly wetting the spot, proceed to pluck the feathers 
from the upper part of the last two ribs and just in front of 
the thigh joint. Pull the flesh on the side down toward the 
hip, and when the operation is finished the cut between the 
ribs will be entirely closed by the skin going back to its place. 
While holding the flesh back with the left hand, with the 
right hand take the knife, Fig. 2, and insert it ( cutting-edge 
away from you ) between the last two ribs, cutting first down 
and then up a little ways, following the direction of the ribs, 
making the cut not over one inch long. Cut deep enough to 
go through the skin and ribs, being very careful not to go so 
deep as to cut intestines. There is little danger of doing this. 
however, if they are empty, as they will be from the bird's 
long fast . The danger of cutting the intestines is when they 
arc full, as in this state they press against the ribs. Should 



HOW TO CAPONIZE. 73 

the cut bleed, stop a moment, let the blood clot on the tbin 
skin covering the bowels, and then remove it with our curved 
spoon forceps. 

Now take the Improved Spring Spreader, Fig. 3, press it 
between the thumb and finger until the ends come together, 
inserting the ends in the incision with the spring end toward 
the bird's feet (see operating table, page 76). Upon look- 




Fig. 3. Improvsd spring spreader. 

ing into the cut a thin tissue-like skin will be seen just under 
the ribs and enclosing the bowels. Take the sharp hook. 
Fig. 4, and pick the tissue open so that you may get into the 
bird with the instruments. The breaking of this skin does 
not cause the least pain to the bird. One of the testicles will 
now be brought plainly to view lying close up to the back of 



Fig. 4. Sharp hook to open film-like skin. 

the fowl. Sometimes both testicles are in sight, but this is 
not generally the case, as the other one lies beyond and more 
on the other side of the bird, the intestines preventing it from 
being seen from this opening. The testicle brought to view 
is enveloped in a film. This should be brought away with 
the testicle. _Some people in caponizing tear the skin open 
and then take the testicle out. The danger in so doing is 
that if this skin is left there is danger of causing a " slip." 

Now comes the only dangerous part of the whole operation 
—getting hold of and removing the testicles. But with a 
steady hand and plenty of light not one bird in a hundred 
should be lost. Attached to the testicle and lying back of it 
is one of the principal arteries of the fowl and this, if rup- 
tured, is sure to cause death. It is here that our improved 
canula, Fig. 5, proves of the greatest advantage. The hair 



74 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

(or wire) being small and very fine, is easily slipped between 
the testicle and artery without injury to either, a clear, clean 
cut made that no other instrument can do. Take the canula 




Fig. 5. Pilling's improved caponizing canula 



in the right hand and adjust the hair (or wire) in it so that 
a loop about one-half inch long will extend from small end of 
tube, leaving the two ends of wire extending far enough out 
of the open end to secure a good hold. Insert the end of tube 
that has the loop on it very carefully and slip the loop over 
both ends of the testicle and entirely around it, hold end of 
tube close down to the testicle. When the testicle is entirely 
encircled by the loop, take both ends of wire (or horse hair), 
which come out of the other end of tube, with thumb and 
first finger, holding it tight, and draw up on it carefully but 
firmly, being particularly careful to have loop around testi- 
cle. Keep end of tube very close to testicle all the time. If 
drawing up on the wire does not at once cut testicle, slightly 
turn from one side to the other (but not entirely around), 
then the testicle will come off. After removing it, carefully 
examine inside of bird to see that no piece is left in, and also 
to see that no foreign substance, such as feathers, etc., has 
gotten in. If there have it is necessary to remove them, for 
if allowed to remain they are liable to cause inflammation. 
Sometimes a feather or part of the testicle may drop among 
the bowels. If this occurs, move bowels around with probe, 
Fig. 6, until the object is found, then remove with curved 
spoon forceps. When the operation is performed remove the 



Fig, 8. Caponizing Probe. 

spreader at once and the skin will very soon slip back over the 
cut and heal in a short time. Never sew the cut, as it will 
heal just the same as any other small flesh wound. 



HOW TO CAPONIZE. 75 

The bird can now be turned over on its right, cut made 
and testicle removed in exactly the same manner as just de- 
scribed for the left side. 

Both testicles may be taken out with one incision, but 
to the learner we would say this is attended with more diffi- 
culty than the two incisions. The other testicle being situ- 
ated so far on the other side, there is more difficulty in reach- 
ing it, besides the danger of piercing the artery running back 
of first testicle. To an experienced party there is no danger in 
removing both testicles from one incision, but to those who 
have not that degree of confidence given by practice we 
would recommend the two cuts. The bird recovers just as 
quickly as though one cut was made, and the operation is 
performed equally as quick, if not quicker. If both testicles, 
are removed from one cut, the lower must always be taken out 
first, for if top one is first removed, the small amount of blood 
that may follow will cover lower one, keeping it from view. 

Our improved caponizing canula is the only instrument of 
its kind that will successfully use either wire or horse-hair. 
Owing to the strength, durability and stiffness of wire, we 
find it much more preferable than horse-hair. We include 
two coils in each set of our caponizing instruments. It is 
very fine, tempered steel. These wires we will furnish extra 
at any time, price five cents each. 

All cockerels as soon as caponized should be marked, 
so that a record may be kept of them. (See our poultry 
marker, page 82). 

Best Time to Caponize. 

Fowl hatched early in the spring make the finest capons. 
They can be cut before hot weather comes, which is a 
great advantage, although no ill results follow the operation 
at any time in the year. The bird should be from two to 
three months old (not over six months) and weigh not less 
than a pound to a pound and a half. The size is equally im- 
portant as the age. June, July. August, September and 
October are the months generally taken for caponizing, for 
the reason that spring chickens arrive at proper age and 
weight during these months, also because cockerels caponized 
then arrive at the proper age and weight for market during 



76 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

the months of January, February, March, April and May, at 
which times there is the greatest demand for them in the 
cities and the highest prices are secured. 

That capons are in our markets at certain seasons only, is 
because the demand is so far in excess of the supply. The 
time should and soon will be when capons may be obtained the 
year around. 

All cockerels not needed for breeding purposes should be 
caponized after reaching the age of two months. Do not try 
the operation on too young chicks, as their organs are then so 
small and undeveloped that you may either kill or cause a 
'•slip." The age already given is the proper time. 




TABLE No. 1. The above, photographed and engraved from life, illustrates method 
of holding fowl ready for caponizing. 

Operating Table. 

There are numerous styles of tables on which to caponize, 
but experience in this matter places our choice between two 
only. 

The top of an ordinary barrel (see illustration) meets all 
requirements as a table, demits of the bird being easily se- 
cured, brings the bird to a proper height with the operator, 
in brief makes as good a table as can be desired. It costs 
nothing, as there is always an empty barrel lying around, cl- 
one that can be easily emptied. 

The second illustration shows how agoodcaponizing board 
(or tabic) can be constructed by the use of our improved 
staple A to slide over the wings of the bird. The staple has 
two fenders about one inch from the points to prevent forcing 
the bird's wings too close together, as would be the case with- 
out them. The cross-bar on staple allows you to use the 



HOW TO CAPONIZE. 77 

upper part for a handle. This will be found very convenient 
during caponizing. One point of staple is longer than the 
other, this enables it to enter the board much easier. By 
cutting six or seven holes in the board it will take any size 
bird. B is the strap loop with a pin across the top to prevent 
strap from falling through the board when not in use. C is 
the weight at the other end of strap for keeping feet down. 

This table is very good for those who propose caponizing 
on a large scale. The entire construction, as shown ia illus- 
tration, is very simple and easily made. 

For those, however, who do not propose caponizing on an 
extensive scale, we would recommend the top of a barrel. 
Whichever method is used, make it a point to have plenty of 
sunlight and the table so situated that the light will strike 
squarely on the fowl. You cannot have too much light 
during the operation. 




TABLE NO. 2. Can easily and cheaply be made. Is suitable for those who 
intend caponizing on a large scale. 

Killing and Dressing Capons for Market. 

Capons should be allowed to grow until at least one 
year old. By this time they are a beautiful bird and will 
have attained an imposing size. Some keep them even longer 
than a year. While this is optional with the raiser, yet, we 
would not advocate killing them under one year if they are 
being raised for market. 

There is a great difference between the dressing of capons 
and an ordinary fowl. Some writers enlarge in a very gilt- 
edged manner on this process. We shall endeavor to place the 
operation before you. shorn of all unnecessary adornment as 
to useless words. When the capons are ready for market, 
select such as you propose killing and confine them. Keep 



78 RELIABLK POULTRY MANUAL. 

them without food or water for about twenty-four hours be- 
fore killing, that their crops may be entirely emptied. Now 
get ready your place for killing and dressing the fowl (if you 
have conveniences in the chicken house this will do quite as 
well, or the wood-shed, or any cool out-house), and drive two 
heavy nails or wooden pins about one foot or less apart in an 
over-head beam. Make two nooses of strong string, each 
noose long enough to hold one each of the legs and have the 
capon hang low enough to pluck with ease. Have a weight 
of two or two and one-half pounds attached to a hook, and 
when the bird is killed, fasten this hook in his lower bill 
after you hang him up for plucking. The weight holds the 
bird in position while picking and renders the operation much 
more easy. 

Next procure a table to dress the fowl upon, and make a 
frame on the same principle as a small box without the ends 
and cover. In this you lay the capon back down to remove 
the intestines. 

When everything is in readiness take your capon and sus- 
pend him by the two legs from the nooses. Catch hold of his 
head and with your French poultry killing knife cut vein at 
back of throat through the mouth. Never cut this from the 



French poultry killing knife. 

outside. Immediately upon cutting vein run point of knife 
through roof of the mouth clear into the brain. This opera- 
tion causes what is termed "dropping the feathers"— making 
them come off very easily. As soon as the knife enters the brain 
the bird loses all sense of feeling. Begin plucking at once. 

Now, the style of dressing: The feathers are left on the 
wings up to second joint, the head and hackle feathers, also 
on legs half way up to drumsticks, all the tail feathers, in- 
cluding those a little way up the back and the long feathers 
on hips close to tail. These feathers add greatly to the ap- 
pearance of the bird when dressed, and are also a ready 
marker from other fowl in markets. Never cut the head off, 
as this is a distinguishing feature of the bird. A capon may 
readily be identified among a thousand cockerels, as the comb 
and wattles of the former ceased to grow immediately after 
caponizing was performed. Wash head and mouth well with 



HOW TO CAPONIZE. 79 

cold water, being careful to remove all blood. A capon 
should not be torn in plucking. There is no danger of this 
happening if proper care be taken. Now, take weight from 
the bird's mouth, and place him back downwards in the box 
frame already described. Cut carefully around the vent and 
pull out the intestines. These will be found covered with 
fat, which, as they are pulled out, should be pushed back. 
When the end of the intestines is reached, run your fingers 
up in the bird and break them off, leaving everything else in. 
As may be expected the fat will be found very heavy 
around the opening, and if sligbtly turned outward 
will soon become hard, which will give a very rich appear- 
ance to this portion of the bird. Let the birds hang in a 
clean, cool place until thoroughly cold. For packing use a 
new box of the required size, lined with white paper (any 
good clean paper will do), pack the birds in solid, back up, 
being careful not to bruise them. Your birds are then ready 
for market. With a bird not torn and the feathers properly 
left on, you have a fowl that for inviting and "taking" ap- 
pearance it is impossible to equal. 

All Poultry Raisers Should Caponize. 

Every poultry raiser has a useless number of cockerels run- 
ning about his place. We say useless so far as as any certain 
degree of profit is concerned. Often (simply owing to their 
number) these cockerels are killed for the home table. This 
offers one solution of their reduction, and is quite proper. 
But when we stop for a moment and think that the poor little 
cockerel just killed, scarcely tipping the beam at three or 
four pounds, and representing 25 per cent more in feed and 
care than his worth— when we think of it that this same bird 
caponized would cost no more, if as much, would have more 
than doubled his weight and engendered a fat, juicy and ten- 
der flesh, it is an unanswerable argument upheld by the bird 
himself that all poultry raisers cannot afford to do otherwise 
than caponize, and this argument is just as convincing for 
the table as for the market. 

Caponizing makes fine birds from common stock ; makes 
birds twice as large as, and double the weight of, ordinary 
fowl with the same amount of food, and turns the otherwise 
useless number of cockerels into a large source of profit. 



80 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Feeding Capons. 

The question is often asked : "How are capons to be fed '?** 
The answer is easily given: After caponizing give the bird 
all he will eat of soft feed, and let him have plenty of water. 
Caponized fowl begin to eat almost immediately after the 
operation is performed, and no one would think for a moment 
that a radical change had been made in their nature. Now 
leave the bird to himself, as for the time being he is his own 
doctor. It is well to look him over two or three clays after 
the operation, as in breathing, the air sometimes gets in under 
the skin causing "wind puff," or a slight swelling, in other 
words. Simply prick through the skin at sides with a sharp 
needle, gently pressing at the same time, when the air will be 
expelled and the capon relieved. Within ten days from the 
operation it would be difficult to find where the incisions were 
made. A day or so after caponizing the bird should be al- 
lowed to run at large, treating him just the same as any 
growing poultry would be treated. 

Caponizing is Not Cruel. 

A large number of persons hesitate in caponizing, feeling 
it to be cruel to the bird. To these we wish to bring our ex- 
perience in this matter proving to the contrary. This is a 
greatly mistaken notion and the operation bestows an unlim- 
ited amount of kindness on the bird, even if there were no 
other considerations or returns. The writer has seen cocker- 
els Hy at one another time and again, tearing flesh and feath- 
ers with beak and cutting with spurs. Before the combat- 
ants could be separated there has been a disfigured comb, 
probably a blinded eye and a generally cut-up bird. This is 
the essence of cruelty. 

After caponizing, the habits of the bird, as already noted, 
are entirely changed. The disposition is quiet and peace- 
able, habits mild and tending to a solitary life and perfectly 
contented wherever situated. They no longer chase about 
the farm spoiling for a fight and running off flesh as fast as 
put on ; they no longer arouse the whole neighborhood from 
morning until night by their incessant crowing, but, on the 
contrary, become models of good disposition, leading a quiet 
life that will surely bring large returns to the raiser. An 
operation that does away with so much inborn evil cannot be 
considered cruel. 



HOW TO CAPONIZE. 81 

"Slips." 

With the proper instruments and care this term should 
not he known. But so many beginners allow themselves to be 
hoodwinked by unscrupulous traffickers in cheap and common 
so-called caponizing sets that it seems impossible to avoid 
this result. 

A "slip" is neither capon nor cockerel. He is much infe- 
rior to the former and a great deal worse than the latter. 
The "slip" is caused by not entirely removing the testicles. 
The smallest fraction left in the bird will grow again, with 
no benefit to himself, but rather a great trouble, as he inces- 
santly chases tbe hens, and while not a fighter himself 
becomes the cause of numerous broils. 

Our improved caponizing canula makes the "slip" an im- 
possible factor, as, owing to its construction, it causes the 
loop to fit closely and completely around the testicle and 
when the wire is drawn up cuts off the testicle clear and 
clean. It is impossible to get the same results from any 
other instrument. In using forceps or twisters of any kind 
there is always great danger of both tearing the testicle and 
artery. If the former, your bird is a "slip;" if the latter, 
your bird is dead. All danger is removed when our impr oved 
canula is used [see Fig. 5, page 74]. 

Points for the Learner. 

Our first advice would be, "Keep cool and make haste 
slowly." If you are rather too tender-hearted read the direc- 
tions over carefully and *then try your hand on a dead fowl. 
All surgeons do this in the first place, and probably it would 
be as well for you to follow their example. Have plenty of 
light. It is impossible to properly perform the operation un- 
less you have this. Do not get nervous; you are not giving 
the bird one-half as much pain as you are giving yourself un- 
easiness. Have your instruments all in readiness, secure the 
bird properly, make the incision, insert the spreaders, pick 
open the film-like skin covering the bowels, and go on in the 
operation with your thoughts entirely on it and not on the 
bird. After your first performance of caponizing you will be 
surprised at its simplicity, and, instead of being a learner, 
will find that you have gained the lesson. Be very particular 
to see that your instruments are first-class, as the market is 



8Z RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

already being flooded with a cheap and worthless lot of cap- 
onizing instruments. It surely must be that such unscrup- 
ulous dealers arc blind to the fact that they cannot sell a sec- 
ond set in the same locality. Else they are satisfied to make all 
they can out of the first deal. Always keep your instruments 
in perfect order. Before using the knife see that the edge is 
sharp, and that the other tools are as they should be. After 
beginning the operation of caponizing there should be noth- 
ing to hinder you from going right ahead. Use plenty of 
good common sense. This is an indispensable quality on any 
point. After caponizing once, or probably twice, you are a 
learner no longer, but master of the situation. There is no 
reason why everyone who reads this work should not be able 
tocaponize properly. To this end we have made it simple as 
possible, and yet at the same time sufficiently explicit and 
exhaustive. 

The pre eminent question asked by the learner, is "How 
long does it take to caponize a bird'?" We would reiterate 
our first advice : "Make haste slowly." The first operation 
may take from fifteen to twenty minutes, but take your time, 
go slowly and act quickly, note every point, keeping your 
thoughts intently on the work. The first operation is your 
instructor; the second finds you master of the situation. 
After a little practice a bird can be caponized in two minutes 
with a good set of caponizing rods. 

Mark Your Capons. 

If you breed tine poultry mark every bird. This little in- 
strument, used to punch web between toes, is invaluable to 
the poultry-raiser in marking young and old chickens, capons 




and all kinds of fowl. This marker enables every farmer and 
breeder to recognize their own fowl at a glance. The mark- 
ing can be made in over 200 different ways, and this number can 
be still more added to by marking the skin of the wings. The 



HOW TO CAPONIZE. 



83 



eggs are marked according to the breed. As soon as hatched 
the chicken marker names your chick for you, and you can 
tell it anywhere. 

Having yoar own mark for your chick it is impossible to 
lose it anywhere, as the mark on the bird proves the owner at 
once, It also enables you to tell the age and every detail in 
reference to it. These markers are made in two sizes, for 
large and small chicks, are nickle plated, have steel cutter 
and spring, making a small and neat instrument that can be 
carried conveniently in the pocket. Sent by mail, postpaid, 
price 25 cents each. 




Do you not think the question of "Eaising Poultry for 
Profit" is solvable on the line of modern improvements? Do 
you need anything in the line of incubators or brooders'? If 
so, the Reliable Incubator & Brooder Company will give 
prompt and careful attention to all communications on that 
subject, and are thoroughly qualified to offer practical sug- 
gestions on all points of artificial incubation. 



RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



The Most Profitable Poultry.* 



BY J. H. DREVENSTEDT. 



The value of thoroughbred poultry to the farmer is 
fully as great as that of thoroughbred stock of 
any other kind. It costs no more to keep, brings 
better prices, and is altogether more profitable 
than common barn-yard stock. When I first en- 
gaged in farming little heed was paid to the hens. The farm, 
the garden, the cattle and horses were carefully looked after 
with an eye to profit, Lut the hens were a side issue. The 
Hock was mixed, and was of no particular breed, and the eggs 
and dressed poultry were like the flock — mixed also. There 
was no uniformity in the product, consequently it sold in the 
markets as ordinary produce. That means ordinary prices 
and little profits. 

Like all young poultrymen, I bought eggs and fowls of 
many different breeds, and while I never regret the experi- 
ence gained in breeding half a dozen different varieties at 
one time, I soon discovered that a farmer has no time for 
such expensive fancy poultry farming. I then selected the 
breed that I liked best and determined to go in for profit. 
The five years during which I kept stock on the farm con- 
vinced me thoroughly that poultry culture was a very profit- 
able thing. A ledger account showed that the hens paid far 
better than the dairy cows, both products being sold at good 
prices. 

It is commonly supposed that thoroughbred birds are of 
no account for practical purposes, being bred simply for fancy 
points. This is true only so far as the management of the 
birds is concerned. A fancier does not care for egg records, 
but believes in feathers only. lie pays the price, and it is a 
large one, to obtain a desired "point." He pens up his 
birds, he breeds them in-and-in, he "conditions" them fo r 



By permission of Rural Publishing Company, New York. 



THE MOST PROFITABLE POULTRY. 85 

the show-pen, and the natural results are fine plumage and 
often delicate and unprofitable birds. Such a course has 
killed a number of fine breeds for profitable purposes. 

The selection of one breed means a uniform flock of birds. 
Such a flock attracts the attention of neighbors and visitors, 
'especially if well kept. The eggs being from one breed, are, 
as a rule, uniform in color, which enhances their market 
value; the broilers and dressed carcasses are uniform in 
color, and if well fattened bring the top prices. The thor- 
oughbred trade-mark is there. Eggs can be sold for hatching 
purposes to neighbors at an advanced price, and the demand 
for thoroughbred cockerels in the fall is another source of 
revenue. 

The farmer will naturally be puzzled to select the best 
breed for his purpose, for in these days every breed has its 
strong champions, and there are scarcely any poor ones, if we 
can believe all we read. A farmer must always bear in mind 
what his market desires, and whether he can profitably sell 
eggs only, or both eggs and meat ; on this depends the selec- 
tion of breeds. In New Jersey many farmers and practical 
poultrymen select fowls that lay white eggs, because the lat- 
ter bring higher prices in New York city and Newark mar- 
kets. The Leghorn is the favorite, and it is doubtful if there 
is anything in the whole poultry kingdom that can exceed 
the Leghorns in their large and valuable egg product. It is 
true that there are other breeds that lay white eggs, such as 
the Minorcas, Andalusians, Polish, Houdans, LaFleche and 
others, but, excepting the first two, they will not lay nearly 
so well as the Leghorns. The Minorcas and Andalusians 
lay very fine white eggs and plenty of them, but the edible 
quality of their meat is not prized in our American markets 
because of the black shanks and white skin that belong to 
these breeds. 

The great success of one noted firm of poultrymen is due 
largely to the fact that they keep only one breed, and that 
the White Leghorns. While they do a large business in sell- 
ing fowls and eggs for fancy purposes, yet the flock they keep 
turns out a large revenue in the sale of fresh eggs. Another 
point in favor of the Leghorns is that the surplus cockerels 
when killed as broilers and spring chickens make handsome 
carcasses that sell well in our markets. White eggs that are 
absolutely fresh will average over 35 cents per dozen during 



86 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

the year. They retail in New York city at from forty to 
seventy-five cents per dozen, according to the season and 
the location of the market. There is little difference in the 
laying capacities of the different varieties of Leghorns, but 
for practical farm use I would prefer the whites. Another ad- 
vantage is the wonderful fertility of Leghorn eggs. They al- 
ways hatch well, and are especially adapted for hatching in 
incubators. 

Where eggs and meat are desired, I pin my faith on the 
Wyandottes and Plymouth Eocks. Both breeds are fine win- 
ter layers, and if the eggs are carefully selected for hatching 
purposes, a strain of fowls will result that produce a fine lot 
of uniformly brown eggs. I could always obtain as much for 
brown eggs as for white, but my markets were the special cus- 
tomers in the city who simply desired clean, fresh eggs. The 
best way to handle these breeds is to sell the eggs from Sep- 
tember to March, when eggs are high in price. Begin in the 
month of January to set eggs for early pullets. The latter 
will commence laying in September in time to supply an active 
market. I generally continue to set eggs up to May 1, when 
I sell off the surplus old hens, keeping only the finest ones for 
breeding purposes the next winter. By using eggs from two- 
year-old hens for hatching, better stock will result, as a rule. 
The first lot of chicks will contain many cockerels that can be 
profitably sold as broilers, but in all later hatched chickens, 
the cockerels had best be allowed to reach four to six pounds 
before they are sold, as the demand for such roasters is always 
good, especially after August, but not later than November. 
From November to January 1, the general maiket is apt to 
be flooded with poultry. 

In regard to handling thoroughbred fowls for laying, I 
always pen them up, usually twenty to twenty-five in a pen, in 
a yard of 50x20 feet. More eggs can be obtained in this man- 
ner than if the fowls are allowed their liberty. The pens for 
breeding usually contain ten to twelve hens, mated to one 
cockerel, and if possible they are allowed free range. The 
laying hens need no male. The hens in the laying-pens that 
are to be kept over for another season are turned out into pas- 
ture after May or June, and fed oats or buckwheat once a day. 
Forcing for eggs throughout the summer from hens that 
laid during the winter will retard the moulting, and too much 
"dead timber" in the fall and winter will be the result. Hens 



THE MOST PROFITABLE POULTRY. 87 

allowed to pasture and not forced with grain will moult out 
nicely. I remember that all my Wyandottes moulted by 
November one season. 

In raising thoroughbred chickens, whether by natural or 
artificial means, the great point is to follow closely nature's 
methods. A hen with her brood on a nice shady grass-run 
will bring up strong chickens. The brooders are artificial 
mothers, and except in the early spring months must be out- 
doors, where the chickens can have a good range. During 
January, February and March chicks do well enough when 
raised indoors, but as soon as the temperature gets over 60 
degrees, the sooner they get outdoors the better. This es- 
pecially applies to Leghorns and other quick-feathering 
breeds. Deprive the latter of a good raoge, and poor and 
sickly chickens will be the result. 

There are numerous other excellent breeds, notably the 
Light Brahmas. The latter, in the hands of such skillful 
breeders as James Eankin and I. K. Felch, bring large re- 
turns. The Langshan is a fine fowl, is a good layer and has 
fine meat, but the black legs and the white skin do not take 
* in the general market. In a fancy market, however, the 
Langshan has many admirers. One dealer in Fulton Market, 
New York, has informed me that he obtained extra prices for 
their carcasses. The Indian Game has unquestionably the 
finest breast development of any fowls 1 am acquainted with, 
and looks meaty and appetizing in every way ; but it has not 
been sufficiently tried in America to enable one to estimate 
its practical value. Properly selected and bred, it should 
reach the top notch. 

Pure Bred Fowls. 

The question is often asked, Are pure bred fowls any better 
than the common or mixed sorts which we find on most 
farms, and if such is the case why is it so? In every case 
where fowls receive proper care and attention, the results 
produced show a marked difference in favor of pure bred 
varieties. The reasons why this is so are easily explained. 
They are on the average much better layers ; they lay larger 
eggs and many more in the course of a year than the common 
barnyard fowl : they are also superior to common stock for 
raising chickens for market. Of course, in mentioning a 
first-class fowl for market, we mean some of the most popu- 



88 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

lar varieties, which are best adapted to that purpose, such as 
the Plymouth Rock or Wyandotte, as they produce chicks of 
uniform size, with yellow legs arjd bodies, which are prefer- 
able to the consumer to the common breeds, which produce 
chicks of all sizes, and legs and flesh of various shades of 
color. Again, pure bred fowls are certainly more pleasing to 
the eye than a flock of inbred mongrels, as each variety has 
a distinct color of plumage, which makes them very orna- 
mental to any yard or lawn, if they are bred according to 
the requirements of the standard, and they will also sell for 
a better price to those who wish to procure a choice stock to 
breed from. In selecting a variety that will bring the best 
price in market, it is very essential that they should have 
clean yellow legs and bodies and good size. 

The Common Hen. 

We wish to take up the subject of common hens in order 
to oblige a large number who often make inquiries as to the 
relative merit of the common stock and pure breeds. In the 
first place it is no easy matter to define what may be called a 
common hen. Sometimes common hens are the best of 
breeds, as they combine the good qualities of several strains. 
The Brahma hen, which lays so well in winter, may be slow 
in growth and late in maturing, and when bred too close, 
through relationship, may fail to give satisfaction. The 
breeder of such fowls will perhaps turn them out to run with 
roosters of no particular blood, and the result is a mongrel 
half Brahma and half anything, as the case may be, but the 
Brahma blood is there, and tells in the common stock, which 
receives the credit for excellence that belongs to the Brahma 
alone. 

One of the best illustrations is to notice the influence of 
the Houdan. If this breed is crossed on any kind of hen the 
best qualities of the Houdan seem to be prominent and the 
crest and toes (Ave) will crop out for successive generations, 
even when bred away from the Houdan for five or six years, 
the Houdan blood not being more than the one-thirty-second 
part, and yet it is to the dunghill fowl that the credit for 
egg production is allowed, while the honors gained by the 
top-knotted hens which show their remote origin to the 
Houdan, should properly be ascribed to that source. Again, 
m|x a flock of fowls indiscriminately, common or pure breeds, 



THE MOST PROFITABLE POULTRY. 89 

and allow among them a Langshan cockerel, and every black 
hen will begin to lay early for the large kinds, which means 
that the Langshan blood is a great improvement ; but because 
the fowls were not kept as poor breeds they will be classed as 
common kinds and made evidences in favor of the claim that 
pure breeds may be good, but common fowls are better. 

Crossing fowls imparts new life and greater vigor when 
they are closely bred, yet crossed fowls are not necessarily 
common, but they are so styled, though it is safe to say that 
there is not a flock of fowls known that has not been improved 
to some extent by our pure breeds, which have been so widely 
disseminated. Does any one doubt that the Leghorn, which 
is one of the purest of breeds, lays better than any other, or 
can anyone answer why common fowls are not uniform in 
other respects as well as laying '? Are any two common fowls 
exactly alike? They should be if they possessed fixed qual- 
ities, but the fact is they have too many different strains of 
blood in them. There are the Brahma, Leghorn, Houdan, 
Plymouth Eock, Hamburgh, Langshan and Cochin crosses, 
which give egg production, but prevent uniformity of plum- 
age. 

The pure breed is the best for all purposes, and until the 
common flock is seen that does not prove the excellence of the 
pure breeds, it will not do for the advocates of common fowls 
to attempt to disparage breeds that unerringly stamp good 
qualities on every flock to which they are united. 




Who have used the Reliable are enthusiastic in sounding its 
praises, as the hundred of letters received testify. We furnish 
substantial proof from our patrons that our machines are 
fully as represented, and our aim is to furnish the best incu- 
bators for the least money. Our special desire is to make 
every Reliable Incubator sold a profitable investment for the 
purchaser and a testimonial of merit. 



90 RELIABLE TOULTRY MANUAL. 



Facts in Poultry Gftliure. 



BY D. T. HEIMLICH. 



Poultry culture to-day is having more attention given 
to it than any other industry. While it is still con- 
sidered the small end of farm products by the 
greater majority of the tillers of the soil, they are 
forced to recognze it as the main factor from which 
the actual living of the family is derived. The day is past 
when the reading and intelligent farmer says in a depreciat- 
ing tone of voice, " chickens arc good enough for the women 
folks to fool with." Every intelligent farmer to-day takes 
care that the women folks have good stock, well knowing 
that if the "women folks" get half a chance they are very 
likely to make a success of it in providing eatables and other 
things with the chicken and egg money, which the ''lords 
of creation" would not provide if the cash bad to come out of 
their own pockets. There has never been such a demand and 
never so many fanciers and breeders in the history of the 
world to supply the demand for good stock as at the present 
time. Poultry papers by the score, old and new ones, all 
helping and aiding the poultry public to grow rich in poultry 
knowledge and add to the ranks of the fancy from which the 
farmer and market poulterer must get his supply of new blood 
wherewith to improve his flock, ever aiming to get better 
every year, thereby creating a demand for what he or she has 
to sell not only in their own neighborhood but from abroad. 
It will take but a few years until the demand will be greater 
than the supply. I know of several breeders in our country 
who raise from one hundred to three hundred chickens, which 
go like hot cakes, at prices that are never less than double 
what they could bring in market. I know of a girl eighteen 
years old, who last year sold over sixty-five dollars worth of 
poultry in market and had a fine flock left from which she 



FACTS IN POULTRY CTJLTTTRE. 91 

had twenty females selected as fancy, properly mated, from 
which she raised over three hundred head, one-half of which 
can readily be sold as high-class poultry, the other half as 
breeding stock to people who are not fully in favor of paying 
what they term fancy prices. This class, if they will read up 
good poultry papers, will become fanciers and breeders and 
will not hesitate to pay reasonable prices to the breeders and 
fanciers who have spent time and money to acquire as much 
knowledge and learning as books and papers can impart 
along this line of study. I know of three other lady breeders 
who each raise one and two hundred Buff Cochin and Light 
Brahmas every year and never have enough stock left by the 
first of March to supply half the demand. I know of one far- 
mer who raises from two to three hundred Light Brah- 
mas every year and has had none to spare after December 1st. 
in the last five years. He disposes of them at six to nine 
dollars per dozen, does not select them carefully in making 
his matings, puts five or six good males with sixty hens and 
turns them loose on his farm; has no ambition along this line 
above disposing of his surplus at a small profit. These kind 
of breeders are little or no benefit to the true fancier, for the 
chances of a number one specimen by such careless matings 
are small. Ten or fifteen dollars would buy a house and en- 
closure large enough to accommodate ten or twelve choice 
specimens, which if carefully selected and mated would breed 
him ten extra choice specimens where he now takes the 
chance of getting one, and that one would be an accident 
whose breeding could not be relied upon. In two years of 
such careful selection he could have a flock to equal the num- 
ber he now retains and all be first-class specimens, from 
which he could sell specimens at prices that he now sells a 
half or a dozen at. Don't breed poultry on this plan, dear 
reader. If you have mot got the money to buy a dozen first- 
class breeding birds, buy a half dozen or a trio. Pay a reliable 
breeder a fair price for good birds, properly mated, for best 
results. Baise as many as possible from them, give proper 
care, learn what the standard requirements of the breed you 
have should be, do not expect ail to be good enough to breed 
from, but select the best. If you cannot do that get some one 
who has had experience to do it for you. Avoid breeding dis- 
qualified birds and in due time success will crown your efforts 
and your love for fine poultry will grow. 



92 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



Naijjes of Different Breeds. 



Black Cochin, Buff Cochin, Partridge Cochin, Pea- 
comb Partridge Cochin, White Cochin, Dark 
Brahma, Light Brahma. White and Black Lang- 
shan. 
Creveeu'ur, American Dominique, White Dork- 
ing, Colored Dorking, Silver Cray Dorking. 
Black Came, Black-breasted Bed Game, Brown-breasted 
Red Game. Red Pyle Game, Silver Dusk wing Game, White 
Game, Yellow Duskwing Game. Sumatra Black Game, Black 
Hamburgh, Golden-penciled Hamburgh, Golden-spangled 
Hamburgh, Silver-penciled Hamburgh. Silver-spangled Hani- 
burgh, White Hamburgh, Audalusian. 

Houdan, White and Black Minorca, Black Java. 
Mottled Java, LaFleche, Langsban, Black Leghorn. Rose- 
comb Black Leghorn, Brown Leghorn, Rose-comb Brown 
Leghorn, Dominique Leghorn, Rose-comb Dominique Leg- 
horn, White Leghorn, Rose-comb White Leghorn, Black- 
breasted Red Malay, Plymouth Rock, Bearded Golden 
Polish. Bearded White Polish, Bearded Silver Polish, Buff- 
laced Polish, Golden-laced Polish, Silver-laced Polish, 
White-laced Polish, White-crested Black Polish, Rumpless 
Russian, Silky, White-faced Black Spanish, Sultan, Wyan- 
dotte. 

Bantams. 

White-booted, Black Game, Black-breasted Red Game, 
Red-breasted (lame, Red Pyle Game, Silver Duskwing Game, 
White Game, Yellow Duskwing Game, Black Sumatra Game. 
Golden Delight, Japanese, Pekin or Cochin, Rose-comb 
Black. Rose-comb White, Silver Sebright, White-crested 
Winged Polish, 



THE EGG BUSINESS. 93 



The Egg Business. 



A writer for the Prairie Farmer notes the fact that 
eggs rise above the prevalent low tide in pro- 
duce values. Almost everything produced on 
farms, gardens, orchards and vineyards sells at 
lower prices than for many years. 
Eggs bring as good prices as they did in flush times, and 
the markets of Chicago and other cities never seem to be over- 
stocked with them. This year very few eggs were packed for 
preservation, or put in cold storage in Chicago or its vicinity. 
The Fair induced an unusual consumption of eggs. A large 
proportion of people who take meals at restaurants call for 
eggs, especially when they are in a hurry to be served, as is 
the case when they wish to visit an exposition like the 
World's Fair. An exceedingly large number of eggs was also 
wanted to fill lunch baskets, of which thousands were carried 
into the grounds every day. 

Of course the great Fair increased the demand for eggs and 
helped to sustain priees, but the prospect is that eggs will 
never be low again. Changes in the condition of society, 
such as have been going on for many years, are favorable to 
an increased consumption of eggs. An urban population re- 
quires more eggs than a rural population of the same size. 
This has been repeatedly shown of most of the countries in 
Europe. Persons who practice light housekeeping, as many 
do who live in large cities, prefer eggs to meat chiefly for the 
reason that they are more easily and more cheaply prepared 
for the table. 

The population of cities and large towns is increasing 
much faster than that of rural districts. This of itself shows 
that the demand for eggs will increase. Great cities require 
an enormous number to supply them. The average number 
of eggs eaten by the residents of Paris is two hundred per 
year. In London and Vienna the number is still larger. 



94 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Next to bread, eggs are the most convenient article of food 
for persons who have not ample facilities for cooKing. They 
need little preparation and there is no waste about them. 
They are relished by more persons than any single kind of 
food. They can be cooked in so many ways as to furnish an 
almost infinite variety in taste and appearance. 

Nothing pertaining to dietectics seems to be better estab- 
lished than that the demand for eggs increases as civilization 
extends and people congregate in large towns. It is stated 
that the eggs consumed in France in a single year would, if 
placed end to end, reach twice around the globe at the 
equator. Much of this country will soon be as densely popu- 
lated as France and will require as many eggs. With such 
a condition of things the price of eggs cannot rule low. We 
are now importing eggs, and shall probably continue to do so 
for many years, if not for all time. 

Buying Pure Bred Males. 

In the fall the breeders thin out their flocks and dispose of 
the surplus, these are usually the culls, and are often as pure- 
bred as the best, but not being fully up in points for exhibi- 
tion they sell at a much lower figure than those which are 
reserved for the shows. 

In writing to a breeder, therefore, always state what you 
desire the birds for, viz — breeding or to infuse new blood. 
Good stock demands good prices, but in a short time the in- 
vestment will prove a profitable one. Through the spring 
and mating season it is often impossible to procure stock at 
all. This will be more generally the case with the breeders of 
a standard reputation. 

Mixed Breeds. 

We do not mean crossed stock, but those flocks of all 
colors, shapes and sizes, seen on farms. What is the use of 
keeping fowls that vary in every particular when a uniform 
flock is so much better and more attractive? It is very easy 
to "breed up" a flock. By using a pure-bred male the chickens 
will be nearly alike, and if the best of them are kept for the 
next season as layers, the result will be that the owner can 
breed with greater certainty and to his satisfaction avoid 
dissimilarity. By then using a cock or cockerel every other 



THE EGG BUSINESS. 95 

season thereafter, the flock will soon consist of hens so uni- 
formly alike as to render it difficult to distinguish one from 
the other. 

New Breeds. 

The " woods are full of them," which their admirers are 
booming with all the might of printer's ink. We have the 
Eed Caps, the White Wonders, the Blue Audalusians, the 
White and Black Minorcas, the Dingoes, the Motley Bells, 
the Peacomb Plymouth Bocks and several others not yet 
named ; and, if we believe all that is claimed for them, each 
one possesses more good qualities than any other breed of 
fowls in existence. But farmers and amateur breeders who 
have no money to experiment with, had better proceed 
cautiously. If you have fowls of a good established breed, 
those that give good returns for the food and care bestowed, 
don't exchange until you know you are getting something 
better. Sometimes it pays to make haste slowly. For the 
reasons set forth above we shall confine these pages to a 
description of the standard breeds, as we have found them 
from actual experience — that is, the breeds that have stood 
the test of years throughout this country. 




Are stubborn things ; and, deny it as we will— evade it as 
best we can— it is nevertheless true that "Baising Poultry for 
Profit" is out of the question when pursued on the line of old- 
time methods and without the facilities afforded by modern 
improvements. Be alive and up to the times. Equip your 
poultry-yard withaBeliable Incubator, and what has been a 
drudgery and loss in the past will become a profitable and 
pleasant avocation. 



90 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



Food for Chickens. 



Advantage of Dry Food. 

ynETriER chickens should he fed water and dry 
grain or no water and sloppy 'food, until weaned, 
is a very far-reaching question. Personally we 
do not believe in si jppy food at all for chickens. 
Years ago cows were fed on sloppy food and 
mashes, but experience has taught us that dry bran and meal 
are more digestible and produce better results every way. 
The latter is the article of commerce now used more than the 
old pin-head oat meal. It is soft and the little chicks take 
it readily. This we feed dry, scattering it on the floor for 
the chicks to pick up. We took a tomato can and filled it 
about half full with fresh milk, to which its weight of boiling 
water had been added, and inverted this can in a tin saucer, 
just large enough for the chickens to readily reach the milk 
but not large enough to admit their feet getting in. This 
can was replenished in the afternoon. We have never seen 
chickens relish a dish as much as that dish of milk. This lot 
of chickens was fed on oats and milk until a week old when a 
bread made of ground oats, bran and Indian meal was fed to 
them. A little cracked corn and wheat was gradually given 
them, and when three weeks of age the latter was the staple 
food, but fresh water was substituted for the milk after that. 
We never saw or raised a healthier lot than the above, bar- 
ring only one chicken. The above system enabled us to save 
time, as the dry food could be given, without danger of spoil- 
ing or becoming foul, once or twice daily. 

Another lot of chickens were fed on cracked corn, rolled 
oats and cracked rice from the first. They had all the water 
they wanted to drink and did exceedingly well. The great 
danger of sloppy food, especially in warm weather, is its be- 
coming sour and producing bowel trouble. This is strikingly 
st» when bran and meal are fed, and we prefer to feed both 



FOOD FOK CHICKENS. 97 

dry and let the moisture come from the water. Water is in- 
dispensable, especially to brooder chicks. The latter kept 
in too warm a temperature are apt to drink too much. This 
was illustrated recently while on a visit to a friend. Our 
friend had 120 chickens in a brooder and complained that 
they would do nothing but drink, and did not eat as they 
should. Investigation showed that the chickens were con- 
fined in a dry, hot brooder. He placed a pan of water in the 
brooder lowered the temperature somewhat and found that 
the chickens stopped the habit of drinking water almost 
entirely. This leads us to think that the advocates of "no 
water" base their experience on chickens raised under hens. 
If such chickens are fed moist food and great care taken to 
keep the food clean and sweet, they can get along without a 
regular supply of water, but foraging in the damp grass 
certainly gives them a natural supply of moisture not always 
calculated upon. To watch chickens on a hot day and con- 
clude they need no water is a thing that few men will 
believe. We have never seen any ill effects in chicks from 
water if allowed full liberty, but in confinement, under bad 
sanitary conditions, water is more apt to satisfy the cravings 
of a feverish and unhealthy lot of chicks than good food will. 
We saw a very healthy lot of chickens recently that were fed 
cracked corn and whole wheat only from the start. They had 
unlimited water to drink and an unlimited range. Taking 
time and labor and general results as a guide we can state 
that in our experience we prefer the dry grain and water 
method with free range as the safest and most profitable. 

Cooked Meat for Fowls. 

It is too much the practice to feed raw meat to poultry 
under the mistaken idea that as the worms and insects which 
they seize with such avidity are uncooked, so should be any 
meat given them by their owners. 

But the early worm which biddy takes in her empty crop, 
soft, pulpy and crushed by the bill before it descends the 
gullet, is one thing, and the coarse, dry, stringy, fatless flesh 
thrown to them "in the rough" and the tough, is quite an- 
other, even if the carcass of horse or sheep so bestowed is not 
still more objectionable on account of disease. True, these 
nearly "dry bones" may serve to while away a weary hour in 
the monotonous life of the poultry yard, and happily the 



!)8 RELIABLE TOULTKY MANUAL. 

fowls may labor under the impression that they are eating 
something. And so they may serve a certain purpose in the 
poultry world. But for real aid and comfort to the fowls 
save all your refuse meat, and buy in addition, "liver, lights, 
heart and all," as the old story runs, from the shambles, and 
boil all together for two hours or more. Then chop finely 
and mix with meal in the water in which they were boiled. 
This dry, rich mess, showing bits of meat, like raisins in 
plum pudding, will be a dish fit to set before any "queen of 
the ( poultry ) harem," and she and her maids of honor will 
pay you for it in more than words, as your egg basket, high 
with pearls, will show on many a succeeding day. 

Cooked Food. 

It is some trouble to prepare and cook the food for a lot of 
fowls, but it is amply repaid by their more rapid development, 
and the larger price they will bring when ready for sale. The 
assertion, that they will grow more rapidly on cooked than 
on uncooked food has often been demonstrated as correct by 
actual experiment, and a proof of the fact is that those kept 
principally on food that is cooked grew away from those 
which arc cared for equally well, except that their food was 
given them in a raw state. 

Market poultrymen, who raise chicks for the early market, 
give cooked food and find it to be necessary to secure success- 
ful profits in the business; and if this is true, the thorough- 
bred poultry breeder will gain likewise in the greater size and 
rapid growth of his stock, and thus get them ready for early 
sales, early shows and better prepared to enter the winter 
months. The males can be disposed of easier, the pullets will 
begin laying earlier, and the business will prove more of a 
pleasure. 

Cooked feed should be sufficiently dry to enable the at- 
tendant to make it up into balls which will crack open when 
thrown out. 

A Use for Wheat Chaff. 

No better use can be made of wheat chaff than to use it as 
litter in the poultry houses, in which the hens can scratch 
and exercise. If a gill of millet seeds be scattered in the chaff 
the hens will work and hunt for the small seeds industriously 
until every one is found, and as the seeds are so very small, 



FOOD FOR CHICKENS. 99 

the hens will be more earnest and diligent, the seeds also 
being somewhat of a luxury. The chaff will also assist in 
keeping the floor dry, thus adding to the warmth and com- 
fort of the poultry house during periods of cold or damp 
weather. 

Number of Eggs in a Hen. 

A French scientist is authority for the statement that the 
egg chamber of an average healthy hen contains 600 eggs, and 
that as a rule, it takes nine years to lay them. More than 
half of the eggs— between 300 and 375— are laid during the 
second, third and fourth years, and the number then 
gradually decreases, running down to thirty in the eighth 
year and from one to ten in the ninth. This is the apparent 
reason why hens cease to be productive and are unprofitable 
after the fourth year. 

Feeding Warm Food. 

The poultryrnan who furnishes his flock with warm water 
twice a day, hits the nail squarely, and in this connection we 
say give them a good meal of warm feed on cold mornings, 
whether they be fancy fowls or running about the farm house. 
It will pay in either case as well as any investment you can 
make of your time. It may be made of almost any kind of 
ground grain or mixture of grains. We use a good deal of 
corn, ground cob and all together (quite fine). This gives 
them a roughness of feed they cannot well get in cold weather 
in the absence of grass and such tilling feed. 

Heating Poultry Houses. 

Unless the weather is extremely cold the poultry house 
will require no heat. It should, however, never be at a lower 
temperature than 40 degrees above zero, and this can be 
secured by properly lining a poultry house so as to prevent the 
entrance of too much cold air. The windows will allow of 
the entrance and absorption of a large amount of heat during 
the day, but at night the heat will be radiated away if the 
glass is not covered on the outside with a piece of batting or 
a shutter. But in regard to the best method of heating, we 
should suggest a stove with a sheet iron drum, a stove pipe 
being connected with the drum so as to conduct the heat to 
the extreme end. Openings may be made in the stove pipe at 



100 



RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



proper distances, to serve on the principle of registers for 
egress of the hot air, in order to warm every portion of the 
house. We do not say that a stove so arranged will heat a 
large poultry house, but it should increase the temperature 
sufficiently to prevent freezing of the combs and wattles. 
Too much heat should not be desired, as it will make the 
hens tender and more susceptible to colds and sudden changes. 

The Wild Fowl Retreat. 

J. C. Green, of Norton Sound, Alaska, states that people 
wonder where the wild fowl come from. They see the sand- 
hill crane, wild goose, heron and other fowl every spring and 
fall pursue their unwearied way, but, like the wind, they do 
not know whence they come or whither they go. Up on 
Golovine Bay, on the north shore of Norton Sound, is the 
breeding place of these fowls. All the birds in creation 
seemingly go to that country to breed. Geese, ducks, swans 
and thousands of sand-hill cranes are swarming there all the 
time. They lay their eggs in the blue-stem grass in the low- 
lands, and if you go up the river a little way from the bay the 
noise of the wild fowl is deafening. Myriads of robins and 
swallows are there, too, as well as millions of magnificent 
grouse, wearing red combs and feathered moccasins. This 
grouse turns as white as snow in the winter. Ducks are 
plentiful. Wild fowls and bears live on salmon berries and 
huckleberries, which cover the hills. 



*mM 




PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING. 101 



Profitable Poultry Keeping. 



Poultry Raising as a Business. 

A practical poultryman, Mr. P. H. Jacobs, writes 
the following in the American Agriculturist: A 
flock of ten hens can be comfortably kept in a 
yard twenty feet wide by fifty deep. An acre 
of ground will contain forty such yards, or four 
hundred hens. No cocks are necessary unless the eggs are 
desired for incubation. To estimate $1.50 as a clear profit for 
each hen, it is not the maximum limit, but the profit accrues 
according to the management given. Poultry thrives best 
when running at large, but this applies only to small flocks. 
Hens kept by the hundred become too crowded while at large, 
no matter how wide the range, and sickness and loss occur. 
Large flocks must be divided, and the size of the yard required 
for a flock is of but little importance compared with that of 
the management. There is much profit to be derived from 
the sale of young chicks, and where one pays attention to 
the business they receive the greatest care. Each brood, 
like the adult, is kept separate from the others in a little 
coop, which prevents quarreling among the hens and enables 
the manager to count and know all about the chicks. This 
is very important, as there are many farmers who hatch 
scores of broods and yet cannot tell what becomes of two- 
thirds of them. Hawks, crows, cats, rats and other depreda- 
tors take their choice, and the owners are no wiser. Each 
sitting hen should be in a coop by herself, and each coop 
should have a lath run. The critical period is the forming of 
the feathers, which calls for frequent feeding, and when they 
have passed that stage the chicks become hardy. The houses 
need not be more than eight feet square for each family, and 
can be doubled. If possible, it is best to have changeable 
yards, but, if used, a less number can be kept to an acre. If 
the yards are kept clean by an occasional spading, however, 



102 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

green stuff may be grown elsewhere and thrown over to them. 
This may consist of cabbage, grass, turnip tops, kale, mustard, 
lettuce, etc. Watering must not be neglected, or the meals 
given irregularly. Care must be observed not to feed too 
much, as over-fat fowls will lay few eggs, and such eggs will 
not hatch. A good poultry manager is always among his 
fowls and observes everything. The breeds have special 
characteristics also. The large fowls must be hatched in 
March, if early pullets are desired for winter laying. This 
applies to Brahmas, Cochins and Plymouth Eocks. If the 
manager finds this impossible, he should at once substitute 
cocks of the Leghorn breed, which crossed with large hens, 
make good marketable chicks, and produce pullets that 
mature early. A knowledge of the characteristics of the 
several breeds is indispensable to success. Crossing pure-bred 
cocks with common hens is excellent, and will increase the 
proliflcness and commercial value of every flock. 

Profit in Poultry. 

Says James Rankin in TJie Homestead: I have sixteen cows 
in my barn. My neighbors call them good ones. The milk is 
sold in a neighboring village at remunerative prices. It re- 
quires the labor of two men and one team to milk, care for 
these cows and deliver the milk. I have 350 pullets in my 
yard. With but a tithe of the labor and capital employed, 
these pullets last winter made me more than double the clear 
money that my cows did. 

I am well acquainted with two young men who are run- 
ning a poultry and dairy farm conjointly. The one is an in- 
valid, keeps 1,000 hens, the care of which occupies about 
one-half of his time. The other keeps thirty cows, from 
which he makes butter of so good a quality that it really 
commands eight to ten cents above the standard price. This 
man raises the usual farm crops, reads the papers carefully, 
knows something of labor and its application, and runs his 
gang of four or five men with an eye to business. Yet the 
invalid brother clears double the money from his 1,000 hens 
that his brother does from the whole farm. 

One instance more: E. Damon, of South Hanson, Mass.. 
told me not long since that he had 750 pullets in his yard, 600 
of which had been confined in one building all winter with- 



PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING. 103 

out stepping out of doors. These fowls had furnished him 
with thirty-five dozen eggs per day during the winter. These 
eggs were taken at the door at forty-two cents per dozen. 
This gave him $11 clear profit per day, with only a few hours 
care. 

Breeding for Eggs. 

To keep hens for laying purposes, where eggs for market 
only are desired, is a different matter from keeping hens to 
provide eggs for hatching purposes. It may safely be said 
that for market purposes, laying and hatching, the condi- 
tions vary. It is a well known principle in breeding, that the 
female must be in a proper condition to become fruitful, and 
this rule applies to the hen as well as to the animal. The 
fat Shorthorn cows are often barren, while those that 
produce large quantities of milk and butter, such as the Jer- 
seys, Holsteins and Ayrshires, usually bear calves every year, 
as the production of milk prevents overfatting. In making 
up a pen for breeding purposes, therefore, the poultryman 
must consider two or three points that must be observed in 
order to secure good hatches when the eggs are incubated. 
In the first place, the eggs from pullets do not hatch as well 
as those from hens, unless the pullets are early hatched. 
This difficulty may be overcome somewhat, however, by mat- 
ing two-year-old cocks with them. Again, while the cock- 
erels may be used in the yards, they should always be mated 
with hens, and not pullets. The conditions to be observed are 
to feed a sufficiency for all that tends to provide the consti- 
tuent elements of an Qgg, without furnishing a superabun- 
dance. By feeding so that the hens must scratch, we bring 
them under the same conditions by which it is known that a 
mare kept at moderate work will produce a better foal than 
the one kept standing in the stable and pampered. It is 
true, as has often been stated by those who sneer at improved 
breeds of poultry, that they are pampered too much, and 
especially is this true of breeding hens, as eggs from such do 
not hatch well, and when they do the chicks are weak and 
sickly. No amount of lime or oyster shells will prevent soft- 
shelled eggs from hens overfed, while disease is liable to occur 
among them at any time. 

We often read of hens that lay 200 eggs a year, but such 
statements do more harm than good, by inducing the inex- 
perienced to believe such to be a fact. Any one who is 



104 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

familiar at all with poultry knows that during the fall all 
hens undergo the process of moulting, or shedding of the 
feathers. This requires usually about three months, or 100 
days. As there are only 365 days in a year, we have 265 days 
left after deducting the moulting period. If a hen lays 
regularly an egg every other day, she will lay 133 eggs, but 
she will probably lose three months more in hatching out her 
broods, and even if she is a non-sitter, she will take a resting 
spell. As moulting is a heavy drain on the system, but few 
hens lay during that process, though there are exceptions, 
and where the number of eggs exceed one every two days, it 
will be found that a corresponding reduction occurs during 
some period of the year. While we admit that certain indi- 
vidual hens have been known to lay as many as 150, or even 
175 eggs in a year, such cases are rare, and if one has a flock of 
twenty hens or more, he should be satisfied if there is an 
average of 100 eggs a year for the whole flock, or rather nine 
dozen. Four dozen out of the nine should realize thirty cents 
a dozen, three dizen should bring about twenty cents a 
dozen, and two dozen should realize fifteen cents a dozen 
in this section — an average of* about twenty-three cents. Of 
course this calculation may be wrong, but it will convey an 
idea of what may be expected. 

Many poultry raisers provide their fowls with warm 
quarters, and feed regularly and on a variety, but yet they get 
no eggs. Such cases are numerous, and we will endeavor to 
point out a remedy for the difficulty. We well know that if 
we keep a horse in a stable, and feed him well, that he be- 
comes restless and unhappy, and in order to keep him in good 
health he must be exercised. With fowls, the winter prevents 
foraging, and our kind readers go to the coops in the morning 
and give thd hens a good, heavy feeding. The hens being 
full, are satisfied, and have no inducements to ramble, conse- 
quently, do not take any exercise and become too fat. The 
better plan is to get some chaff, cut straw, leaves or even 
dirt, and place it where the hens can scratch in it. In the 
morning give the hens a mess of warm food, but only a little. 
Now throw some grain into the scratching heap, and make 
them work for the balance of their meal. Feed nothing but 
what they will have to work for. At night feed them all they 
will eat. The object is to keep the hens busy during the day, 
but let them go on the roost full. Hens that are compelled 



PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING. 105 

to work will lay better and keep in good health, while the 
eggs will produce stronger chicks. They should always have 
a warm mess early in the morning, especially in the winter, 
but the meal should be so given as to leave them somewhat 
hungry. Do not feed them at noon except by putting their 
food in the scratching heap, and never give soft food in the 
scratching heap. In other words, keep them scratching for 
oats, wheat, seeds and even for ground shells. Give no corn 
except at night, and give them their night's meal without 
making them scratch for it. 

Breeding for Market. 

While it is admitted that the marking and plumage of a 
bird is an index to its purity, yet we often see the sacrificing 
of some of the best in the flock because of a slight defect 
that does no injury, but which serves as a disqualification in 
the show room. This practice has been very damaging to the 
value of the breeds for utility, as the plumage in no manner 
affects the laying qualities or adds to the attractiveness of 
the fowl for market. And yet, without a strict adherence to 
some definite rule by which the breeders of thoroughbred 
poultry can be guided, our flocks would degenerate into dung- 
hills and their characteristics as breeds be entirely lost. 
But there is a limit even to the fixed outward indications, 
and when once the desired object has been attained of giving 
them a uniform exterior the more important essentials should 
not be overlooked. Poultry is destined to serve a grander pur- 
pose than that of being petted. The majority of those in- 
terested have no inclination to devote their time to the 
breeding of beautiful birds only, but prefer to realize a profit 
from carcasses and eggs ; and hence any attempt to sacrifice 
vigor and strength, in order to secure straight comb or a cer- 
tain shade of color, will in the end prove detrimental. This 
is proved already from the fact that while the fancy breeders 
have been more exacting in their standard requirements 
than any other class, yet they have not succeeded in securing 
a flock of uniform show birds from the best of their prize- 
winners, while the Berkshire swine-breeders, who give but 
few points to color marks, have only a small number of culls 
in their herds. 

The farmers who raise poultry for market, however, owe 
much to the breeders of fancy poultry, for despite all mis- 



106 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

takes they may have made, they have preserved the purity of 
the breeds, and as their standard is only in its infancy, the 
time will come when all the breeds will combine not only the 
characteristics of utility, but convey also the outward evi- 
dences of the purity of the stock. 

Select those that come up to the standard in points, if you 
can, but do not discard a good specimen of robust constitution 
for a slight defect. Be liberal in allowing a few fowls to 
have drawbacks if such imperfections are such as to cause no 
injury to the offspring, but above all, select for vigor and 
strength. It is not always the largest fowl that is the most 
vigorous, but the one with full bright eyes, heavy bone, com- 
pact body and quick movement. In plumage, see that the 
color of the hens harmonizes with the color of the cock. If 
the hens are too dark allow the cock to be somewhat lighter, 
and if the hens are very heavy in the body, use a medium 
sized cock. Too much weight is not desirable in fowls, al- 
though many boast of weight in preference to other qualities. 
The chief object, no matter which breed is used, should be 
vigor and activity. An overgrown, excessively fat fowl is a 
nuisance, and should not be tolerated. 

Poultry Keeping for Profit. 

During the year 1884, Mr. Henry Stewart contributed to 
the New York Times a series of articles containing many 
valuable suggestions for those who wish to make poultry 
keeping a business. His plan is briefly as follows: Each yard 
is to consist of a plot of ground about 100x400 feet, contain- 
ing nearly one acre, with a suitable fence. The house is 
placed in the center of the yard and a cross-fence on a line 
with the house divides it into two parts. These two parts 
are alternately sown thickly with some crop that will afford 
forage for the fowls. In September they are placed on one 
side sown thickly with turnips. The other is immediately 
plowed up and sown with rye. The fowls will do very well 
for the winter in one side, with an occassional day in the green 
rye. In November wheat is sown after the turnips are eaten 
off. In April we may sow oats, in May corn, in June rape or 
mustard seed and in July begin the rotation again with ruta- 
bagas. 

As a rule a house twenty-five feet long, ten feet wide, 
eight feet high in the front and five feet in the rear, will be 



PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING. 107 

quite large enough for the one hundred fowls to be kept in 
each yard. This should be cleaned at least once a week — the 
oftener the better. The inside walls are quite smooth, 
haying no fixtures except the roosting poles, which are on a 
level one foot from the ground. This leaves no harbor for 
vermin. The nests are loose boxes. Mr. Stewart also sug- 
gests that where a series of yards are kept, the inside fences 
may be movable, so that while the fowls are all confined to 
one side, the fences may be removed from the other, thus 
facilitating the plowing and planting. 

"It is evident," he adds, "that this system will greatly 
enrich the soil, and this may be turned to good account by 
raising fruit trees in the poultry yards. No other fruit crop 
pays so well as plums, but none is so hard to grow on the ac- 
count of the pestiferous curculio. But when plums are 
grown in a poultry yard this insect has no chance. The 
sharp eyes of the fowls let no rogue escape, and one can raise 
plums with success and profit. As 200 of these trees can be 
planted on one acre, there is a possibility of $400 per acre 
from the fruit as well as $200 from the fowls ; for every hen 
well cared for should make a clear profit of two dollars in the 
year. The yards may be planted with dwarf pear trees, with 
equal profit or more^ because 300 of them may be placed on 
one acre. The shade of these trees is invaluable." It is also 
recommended that a row or small grove of Norway spruce, 
Arbor viata? or Austrian pine be planted each side of the 
house to serve as a wind break for the fowls in winter. 

One Dollar per Hen. 

Somebody, writes a breeder, wants to know if $1 per year 
profit from each hen is a good average. Where hens are kept 
as the majority of farmers keep them, $1 per head is quite as 
much as the owner ought to expect, and I don't believe 
the average farmer can make $100 easier than by keeping 
and caring for a flock of 100 hens. If he will do a little some- 
thing extra in the way of housing, care and feed, the hens 
will add at least fifty cents to the average dollar. Why we 
have pullets that at present writing have laid a dozen eggs 
apiece since they first commenced laying, the first week in 
October, but they didn't roost in the trees and live on saw- 
dust and gravel ; they had a good, warm house and plenty of 
food and care. If those pullets don't earn considerably more 



108 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

than their "average dollar" per head before next spring I'll 
cut their heads off, every last one of them. And I may as 
well tell you that when I fail to make at least $3 profit for 
each hen, duck and turkey kept for breeding stock, I don't 
brag much about my success in poultry raising. 

Winter Egg Production. 

The following is from the Country Gentleman: To obtain 
a breed of fowls that are perpetual layers is the object that 
many aim at. This is an impossibility, for nature will 
exhaust itself and must have a period of rest. In order that 
we have a perpetual production of fresh eggs, the business 
must be arranged beforehand. There is a difference in breeds, 
some laying better than others at any time of the year, and 
others, again, giving their eggs in winter. There is little 
difficulty in obtaining eggs in summer, but the winter eggs 
must be worked for, and the fowls managed beforehand. 
Hens that have laid well during the summer cannot be de- 
pended on for late fall or early winter, even if well fed, but 
will generally commence in January and keep it up through- 
out February and March, giving a good supply of eggs if not 
too old. But it is better not to allow such birds to go into 
the winter. They are generally fat, after having finished 
the annual moult, and should be killed for the table. After 
the second annual moult hens are apt to become egg-bound, 
especially if well fed and fat. The excess of fat that ac- 
cumulates about the lower intestines and ovaries weakens 
these organs and renders them incapable of performing their 
offices. Hence the fowl suffers and becomes profitless. 
When left too long the bird becomes feverish and the 
flesh is unfit for food. The better way is to avoid this 
trouble, since there is no cure, by not allowing the birds to go 
into the second winter. Trouble of this kind seldom occurs 
with pullets or young hens. 

To obtain a supply of winter eggs, we must have the 
chicks out in March or April. Leghorns and some of the 
smaller breeds will do in May or the tirst of June, but the 
lirahmas and Cochins must come off early, that they may 
have the full season for growth. The Asiatics are generally 
good layers in winter, and need less artificial heat, as nature 
has not furnished them with any ornamental appendages 
which suffer with exposure to the frost. For them it is not 



PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING. 109 

necessary to spend large sums in warm buildings. What 
tbey can dispense with in this respect they demand in feed, 
which must he given regularly. The feed must be kept up 
and varied with animal and vegetable diet. The supply of 
water must never fail. We must feed and feed a long time 
before the eggs will come. Any breed of hens will consume 
an enormous quantity of feed before commencing to lay, but 
later, having once begun, they will not require or even take so 
much grain. When laying their great craving is for vegetable 
and animal substances and crushed clam or oyster shells. 

Fowls that are regularly trained have certain portions of 
the day for their different feeds. My birds require their 
shells at night, as well as their greens, and their grain in the 
morning, and always fresh water. When one has the time 
and convenience, and enjoys the petting of fowls, making warm 
stews on very cold days is an admirable plan, and the birds 
relish them marvelously. Take beef or pork scraps, and put 
into an old kettle, having them previously chopped fine, and 
fill it half full of water. While stewing, throw in a dozen 
chopped onions, two dozen cayenne peppers and the day's 
coffee and tea-grounds. Thicken the mixture with cornmeal, 
and serve it around among the hens hot. They relish it 
amazingly when once taught to eat it, and will look for the 
ration daily at certain time. On cold winter days give 
this feed between two and three o'clock in the afternoon, 
and the chickens get their crops warmed up for the coming 
cold at night. If scraps are not handy, boil unpealed potatoes 
and serve in the same manner, adding a little grease or cold 
gravies left over from yesterday's dinner. 

The combed varieties require warmer quarters and sunnier 
exposure than the Asiatics, and are good winter layers after 
December and early January. They will lay in the fall if early 
hatched, but the change of fall to winter, and the getting 
into winter quarters affects them, and they seldom commence 
again before the days begin to lengthen, at which time Brah- 
mas will cease egg-production and become broody. Where 
one has the convenience it is well to keep both kinds, in order 
to insure a supply of eggs. It is useless to expect many eggs 
from old fowls of any variety. Have the buildings ready 
early and the fowls of the right age and in condition to insure 
success. The business of our domestic hen is to produce eggs, 
and we must feed her for it. 



110 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

The Profit from Poultry. 

A dozen hens, valued at $9, may pay for all their feed and 
yield a profit of only seventy-five cents each. Such a sum 
would seem very insignificant, but it is 100 per cent on the 
capital invested. True, the hens require attention and labor, 
while the expense for buildings must not be overlooked. 
l'.ut buildings are permanent investments, and will last for 
several seasons, while the labor bestowed upon a single small 
Hock would not be increased if ten times the number were 
cared for. An attendant would find no difficulty managing 
several hundred fowls, while fifty cents is estimated as the 
proportion for each hen to contribute as her share of the ex- 
pense for the poultry house. 

A dairyman will buy a cow for $75, and build a large barn 
for his herd. He must not only grow or purchase his grain 
and other feed fed in his troughs, but he must also provide 
a pasture. The cows must be milked twice a day, and the 
milk hauled in all kinds of weather. If butter is made the 
labor is increased. The capital invested in a single cow, esti- 
mating use of land, labor, buildings and value of the animals, 
seldom falls below $200, and if the cow gives a profit of S50 
per annum she is considered a good one. And yet the dairy 
business is considered a paying one, although the profit does 
not reach twenty-five per cent on capital, but we have allowed 
it here. If the poultryman realized twenty-five per cent on 
capital invested in poultry he would be dissatisfied. It is a 
very inferior flock that does not pay fifty per cent, and 
hundreds of cases may be cited in which two hundred per cent 
on capital invested in poultry has been secured. 

Profitable if Cared For. 

When it is claimed that poultry returns a larger profit for 
capital invested, the fact applies to both small and large 
Hocks. If the hens are treated as stock, and managed as is 
done for horses, cattle, sheep and swine, they give large 
profits for labor, care and capital invested, but the great diffi- 
culty is that the majority of farmers do not look upon poultry 
as stock. Even where the flocks are overlooked they give good 
profits on some farms, though the farmer may not be aware 
of the fact if he keeps no accounts. There are but few in- 
stances known in which the hens have failed to more than 



PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING. Ill 

pay for themselves, and they yield hundreds of eggs to those 
who have never considered poultry profitable,. simply because 
the amount received is estimated in cents instead of dollars. 

How to Fail. 

There are many persons who have started in poultry rais- 
ing and at the end of the first, second or third year became 
tired of the business and quit in disgust. This has been the 
case more particularly with men who undertook to breed fine 
pure-bred stock for sale, with the hopes of immediately mak- 
ing large sums of money. We often hear some one state that 
he would not have a Brahma, a Leghorn or a Game fowl 
about his yards, but we as often learn that at some period in 
said individual's life, through his own ignorance or want of 
energy and ordinary ambition, he has not only defrauded 
himself out of money, but has made his fowls the instru- 
ments with which he has accomplished the work. Himself 
entirely at fault, yet he throws the blame upon the fowls. 
They eat too much ; they ruinedhis gardens ; they would freeze 
their own combs and feet; they would die on their nests; 
they would not lay : in fact they were the poorest breed of 
fowls to he found in the country. 

In every such case the whole trouble is in the make-up of 
the individual and not with the fowls, and if any reader of 
this article has been a loser in the poultry business, whether 
in raising fowls for market, or for breeding and exhibition 
stock, and will state his case, we can refer him to men in the 
same business who are to-day making money out of the same 
breed of fowls. 

We have for the last fifteen years given this matter some 
attention in order to decide in our own minds what are the 
stumbling blocks over which these men fall, and we here 
name a few of them and give a few hints which will aid the 
beginner in commencing and carrying on the business until 
he has gained a firm footing. The first step this man who 
fails takes when he has decided to launch out in the poultry 
business is to purchase eggs from pure-bred fowls, or the fowls 
themselves, of the variety he most admires, feeling confident 
that with and from these, his start in the business will be 
well established, and that at the end of the first or of the 
commencement of the second season, he will stand on the 
top-most round of the ladder, side by side with men who 



112 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

have been breeding his favorite fowls for years and are known 
the world over, and that all his extra fowls and eggs will find 
a ready market of enormous prices. 

He immediately notifies a score of breeders that he is now 
ready for business and will be pleased to receive by return 
mail their very lowest, rock-bottom cash prices for their very 
best pure-bred stock and eggs from same. The circulars and 
price-lists are received, and without having posted himself as 
to who has the best fowls of tbe breeds he desires to purchase, 
he orders fowls or eggs from the man who offers the greatest 
inducements in quantity. With him quantity is the thing, 
not quality, for his figures show that if a trio will net him 
$50 per year, double that number of fowls and he will have 
$100 net profit for the first season's labor. Then, to his mind, 
the cheap are possibly as good as the dear, and if they are 
not, who can tell the difference from the eggs? 

The fowls are received, pronounced good by the neighbors, 
placed in the "old hen-house" which has not been cleaned out 
for years, receive plenty of food and good care, until they be- 
come an old story, and from that hour are neglected. Hens 
are set, but the lice drive them from their nests, or, in case 
the hens are of a determined, desperate disposition, the lice 
will sap the last drop of life blood, and leaves bone, muscle 
and feathers on the nest, and a query in our young fancier's 
mind why pure-bred fowls are so delicate, so hard to 
raise and die so mysteriously. Mention lice to him and he is 
thunderstruck. He never saw a louse on one of his hens. 
State the fact that lice killed his favorite hen, and he will 
not only deny it in the strongest terms, but you will see that 
he already weakens in his good opinion of his favorite stock. 

His fowls, run down from attacks of lice, out of order from 
a steady diet of whole corn, are attacked with roup, and 
finally set at liberty to mingle with the neighbors' common 
stock. A few chicks are hatched, and those which survive 
the ravages of cats, rats and lice, contract disease from ex- 
posure to storms, want of shelter and shade and a diet of 
sloppy and sour feed, as often thrown upon the filthy ground 
as otherwise. Thus they are dwarfed in size, have delicate 
constitutions and become, in fact, a flock the condition and 
appearance of which would dishearten any man. 

With this stock for a foundation, our fancier advertises 
eggs from prize-winning stock and sells only to receive con- 



PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING. 113 

dernnation from the buyer for the motley lot of chicks raised 
from the eggs. Unknown to our young fancier, his fowls had 
been crossed with his neighbors' barnyard fowls, and his own 
chicks are now of all colors, and he remembers the breeder of 
whom he made his purchase as a knave, the fowls as a worth- 
less breed, and the poultry business as a failure, little think- 
ing that there is no one to blame but himself, and that by 
proper management, a little thought and care on his part, 
the loss could have been turned to profit. 

Profitable Experience in Poultry Raising. 

To show how poultry raising may be made as profitable 
perhaps as labor in the workshop, writes a farmer, here are 
the details of what the wife of a small farmer in my neighbor- 
hood is doing. She wintered thirty-seven hens and two roos- 
ters, and during this time the flock laid nearly eggs enough 
to pay the cost of their food. Early in March she began 
setting the hens as they brooded. 

By the middle of May she had 141 chickens, and had only 
lost two. She is going to keep on setting hens until July, 
when she will probably have at least 300 chickens. In June, 
the earliest will be two and a half to three months old, plump 
and suitable for broilers. For them she will obtain a high 
price. As the summer advances, prices will gradually fall, 
but even through autumn chickens pay a fair profit, and dur- 
ing the whole time she will be selling eggs, perhaps enough to 
pay for the feed of the flock. 

Now, as to the fixtures to carry on this business: There 
is a cheap, well-ventilated poultry house, and old flour bar- 
rels with one head taken out, chiefly used for nests and for 
coops. The chickens are weaned when six weeks old, and 
placed in the barn at night, where they sit safe and warm on 
the thrashing floor till morning. They are given feed, a drink 
of skimmed milk, and left to wander around the ground at 
will. The barn door is left open to the south, so they can go 
in for feed and drink as often as they desire, and also for 
shelter if it rains ; but as the hens have been let out of their 
coops since the chickens were a week old, they grow up quite 
hardy and don't mind a little rain. 

The soil here is admirably suited for raising chickens, it 
being a light gravel, which dries immediately after a rain, 
and is consequently never muddy. 



114 RELIABLE rOULTRY MANUAL. 

When setting a hen, a piece of dry turf is cut 12 to 16 in- 
ches square, hollowed out a little on the under side, so as to 
make a corresponding hollow on the upper, to safely hold the 
eggs. The turf is now laid on the bottom of the coop or bar- 
rel, grass side up, and the eggs placed upon it. A little sul- 
phur is sprinkled around the neck of the hen, beginning close 
to the head, also on her rump and under the wings. This 
kills lice if she happens to have any. The turf has the ad- 
vantage of keeping warm while the hen is off to feed, drink 
and wallow in the dirt, and it also prevents the egg shells 
from getting so hard and dry as to make it difficult for the 
chickens to pick themselves out. After hatching, the turf is 
removed and a peck more of sand or loam is put in to keep it 
sweet and clean. This is renewed weekly. 

Poultry on a Large Scale. 

People thinking of raising chickens on a large scale will do 
well to note the following good advice given by the Poultry 
Monthly: 

"There are many persons of moderate means who have 
had perhaps some little experience with breeding poultry and 
who get to wondering if it will pay to breed poultry on a large 
scale : whether it will pay to embark in the breeding of poul- 
try for market purposes as a business, and if it is good policy 
to give up a fair paying clerkship or small business to engage 
in it. .Such questions are very difficult to determine to the 
satisfaction of all persons concerned, for much more really 
depends on the person than on the business in nearly every 
department of human industry, and where one person may 
make a success of any undertaking another one may fail, 
though having started with equally as good chances of success. 
Poultry, to be successful on a large scale, must be kept in 
small colonies of about fifty birds each, for many more than 
that number in a single house is apt to cause sickness or dis- 
ease, ere long, among them. Small flocks like that can be 
given better attention than larger ones, and the first approach 
of disorder can be seen readily and promptly checked, while 
there is less danger of great loss when thus kept in small 
flocks, as the trouble can usually be confined to the flock in 
which it started, by proper and prompt sanitary measures. 
When the breeder is not too far away from large retail mark- 
ets, and especially where the breeder can market them himself, 



PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING 115 

thus saving commission, freight and loss, it pays best to breed 
and keep poultry for the eggs they produce, as eggs known to 
be strictly fresh are always in good demand at quite an in- 
crease in price over that received for the ordinary "store" 
eggs. Such breeds as the White and Brown Leghorns, and 
birds bred from them, either pure breed or cross breed or 
grade, as a basis, are first-class egg producers, while a Game 
cock is also valuable to breed to good common hens, produc- 
ing, as a rule, vigorous, active pullets, which are invariably 
good layers. Those who wish to raise poultry principally for 
the flesh should raise the Light Brahmas, Plymouth Rocks, 
Dark Brahmas, or some of the Cochin breeds, the first two 
named, however, being general favorites in this respect, and 
also combining with it good laying qualities under favorable 
circumstances. Those who cannot or will not give the poultry 
regular or constant attention, shelter them properly, supply 
proper food in liberal quantities and at frequent and regular 
intervals, and pay a strict attention to cleanliness and 
thoroughness in all the details of the management, need not 
expect even to succeed, nor even consider the question of loss 
or profits, for success and profit here means work, work, 
work.'' 

Don't Crowd 

This piece of advice is meant particularly for those who 
kept a flock of early pullets last winter and made them pay a 
good profit. They now have the "hen fever" ( i. e., the people 
who kept the pullets have it ), and they will figure thus: 
Last winter I kept 30 pullets, and they paid me clear profit of 
a dollar a head ; this winter I will keep a hundred, and make 
a hundred dollars. That's all right; keep a hundred pullets, 
and make a hundred dollars ; but for mercy's sake don't try 
to keep a hundred, or even fifty, in the room where you only 
kept thirty before. If you crowd that way, the chances are 
.that you will make a hundred out of pocket. There is too 
much of that kind of poultry keeping, and it is the kind that 
don't pay. If you have only room for 30 fowls, don't try to 
keep more than that number until you can provide more 
room. Keeping two fowls in the space that should be occu- 
pied by one has never yet paid, and it never will. When the 
people who have the 1,000 hen fever get that idea well into 
their heads, they will either give up the keeping 1,000 hens, 
or else provide room for 1,000. 



116 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Successful Poultry Raising. 

Mr. Charles Lyman, a successsul raiser of poultry, writes as 
follows: In raising poultry or stock of any kind, it should be 
the aim of every one to keep it healthy and improve it. You 
can do it very easily by adopting some systematic rules. 
These may be summed up in brief as follows: 

1. Construct your house good and warm, so as to avoid 
damp floors and afford a flood of sunlight. Sunshine is 
better than medicine. 

2. Provide a dusting and scratching place where you can 
bury wheat and corn and thus induce the fowl to take the 
needful exercise. 

3. Provide yourself with some good, healthy chickens, 
none to be over three or four years old, give one cock to 
every twelve hens. 

4. Give plenty of fresh air at all times, especially in sum- 
mer. 

5. Give plent of fresh water daily, and never allow the 
fowls to go thirsty. 

6. Feed them systematically two or three times a day, 
scatter the food so they can't eat too fast, or without proper 
exercise. Do not feed more than they will eat up clean, or 
they will get tired of that kind of feed. 

7. Give them a variety of both dry and cooked feed. A 
mixture of cooked meat and vegetables is an excellent thing 
for their morning meal. 

8. Give soft feed in the morning, and the whole grain at 
night, except a little wheat or cracked corn placed in the 
scratching places to give them exercise during the day. 

9. Above all things keep the hen house clean and well 
ventilated. 

10. Do not crowd too many in one house. If you do, look 
out for disease. 

11. Use carbolic powder occasionally in the dusting bins 
to destroy lice. 

12. Wash your roosts and bottoms of laying nests, and 
whitewash once a week in summer, and once a month in 
winter. 

13. Let the old and young have as large a range as possible 
— the larger the better. 



-PROFITABLE POULTRY KEEPING. 117 

14. Don't breed too many kinds of fowls at the same time, 
unless you are going into the business. Three or four will 
give you your hands full. 

15. Introduce new blood into your stock every year or so, by 
either buying a cockerel or setting of eggs from some reliable 
breeder. 

16. In buying birds or eggs, go to some reliable breeder 
who has his reputation at stake. You may have to pay a 
little more for birds, but you can depend on what you get. 
Culls are not cheap at any price. 

17. Save the best birds for next years breeding, and send 
the rest to market. In shipping fancy poultry to market 
send it dressed. 

Will it Pay to Hatch Broilers in Summer? 

Those who have hatched chicks early and secured the best 
prices will not be easily satisfied with the low prices that 
usually prevail in summer, but chicks may be probably 
hatched at this season if a large number are brought out. 

The egg from which the chick is to come will cost one cent, 
and the food should not exceed five cents per pound. At 
thirteen weeks old the chicks ought to weigh at least two 
and one-half pounds, and three pounds is not too great for 
that age. Now it is seldom that a three-pound chick sells for 
less than fifteen cents a pound, but we estimate at two and 
one-half cents a pound weight, at ten cents a pound, or 
twenty-five cents for each chick. The total cost for eggs and 
food will not be over fifteen cents per chick. That leaves a 
profit of ten cents. This seems very small, but it is a large 
profit- The investment is only fifteen cents, and the increase 
66f cents in thirteen weeks, or 3331 per cent in one year. 
But, then, there is the labor. Labor, however, is what you 
are really selling. If, by expending fifteen cents, you can 
sell one dollar and twenty-five cents worth of labor, it is a 
good investment, even when viewed in that light, for the 
figures show it to be the case. 



ijt/a;w» 



118 RELIABLE POTTLTRY MANUAL. 



Feeding ai)d Rearing. 



Animal Food for Chickens. 

r\ conomy in the distribution of the grains and other 
"S food furnished our poultry is a matter that 
deserves the closest attention in our daily work 
j and our earnest consideration when we are mak- 
/ ing up the bill of fare for the season. We 
may build costly and elegant houses, and spend time and 
money on the runs and all the accessories of a first-class es- 
tablishment, but the cumulative cost of food will, in a few 
years, aggregate a sum as large or even larger. 

A poultry house may be expensive, but as long as it is well 
planned and built it is a profitable investment ; and once 
finished, the chances for waste and loss are gone. But with 
provisions this is not the case. It is not sufficient to give 
enough every day. We must see that there is neither loss to 
the fowls nor their owner through overfeeding or scant sup- 
ply, and that a judicious variety of feed is used. 

Though the losses through lack of economy are not so 
large when but a dozen or twenty fowls are kept as when the 
breeder has a hundred or more to look after, they are by 
no means to be despised, no matter how small : for if the loss 
is small, the profits from a few fowls are small also, and the 
percentage of loss is the same in each case. When we come 
to poultry keeping on a larger scale, however, the strict 
economy necessary is very apparent. While the number of 
fowls kept is small, their sustenance could, for the most 
part, be drawn from the refuse of the table and cost nothing: 
but when a large number must be maintained— in health— it 
is evident that this source of supply will be entirely inade- 
quate. To obviate this difficulty it is necessary to make 
special "messes," suited to the almost omniverous appetites 
of domesticated poultry. Fish and flesh are all one to any 






FEEDING AND REARING. 119 

flock ; and when nature does not furnish enough in the way 
of worms, grasshoppers and other forms of "meat on the 
hoof," we must supply the deficiency by preparations of 
chandlers' scraps and refuse butchers' meat — as a rule, made 
into a sort of hash, with meal— and green food of any avail- 
able description. When meal dough is used, however, pains 
should be taken to see that only as much is made as can be 
eaten up clean at once, or else that which is left over should 
be kept in a cool place, as otherwise it will sour rapidly and 
when sour is inimical to health. 

Young chickens need animal food particularly. When it 
fails to do them good it is in consequence of thecotnmon fault 
of over-feeding. They cannot bear big rations of rich food. 
Watch the mother hen at liberty scratching for her young 
brood, and see how infrequent and how small the morsels, 
and how many the competitive mouths. Now the practical 
question arises, how shall we best supply animal food arti- 
ficially ? A method has been recommended for producing 
maggots as food, not only for chicks but old fowls, and in 
sufficient quantity to give a large flock a meal every day. 

The first step is to dig a trench, a foot deep and six feet 
square, and brick up or cement the sides so that none of the 
maggots can escape. Then throw in enough straw, that has 
been used as bedding for horses, to make a layer three inches 
thick. On this place a layer of horse manure a couple of 
inches thick, spread evenly. Next make a layer of scraps 
from the table, Indian meal, yeast and almost anything 
which will cause fermentation rapidly. This layer should be 
about one inch thick. Lastly, sprinkle about an inch of loose 
dirt, and over all place a roof tight enough to keep out rain 
and sun, but open under the eaves. 

These preparations completed, bide your time and the 
coming of the muck flies which will take possession and lay 
their eggs. In a few days the pit will be swarming with mag- 
gots, and a feast for your fowls be of easy access. By making 
two or three pits, a constant supply will be furnished, which 
will stand in the stead ©f much other animal food and effect 
quite a saving. 

So far so good— or, perhaps, so bad. There is something 
mean and disgusting about this process, and meal worms are 
neater, though perhaps not one whit more healthful for the 



120 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

chicks. First, What is a meal worm ? many will ask. A meal 
worm is the article so often found in ship's biscuit and the 
'•hard tack" used in war. It frequents granaries and bak- 
eries, and does much damage by boring through sacks of 
meal and flour. Although a pest, its pure food makes it very 
cleanly and a delicate tid-bit for young chicks. 

To produce these worms in quantities it is only needful to 
get a small stock, say three hundred, and place them in an 
earthen jar with scraps of old leather and other refuse animal 
matter mixed with bran and refuse meal. 

Place some cotton waste on the mass and keep it moist 
with water, and in a short time the worms will increase at an 
almost incredible rate. In sixty days there will be enough 
to give the chicks a meal daily. 

Fresh fish make a mild, nourishing animal food for young 
chicks. There is quite a host of our readers who live near 
large bodies of water or rivers where fishing is carried on dur- 
ing almost all months of the year when the water is open and 
free from ice. Many of the small fish are either left to decay 
on the shores, or to be devoured by gulls and other birds. 
Many cart loads of them are annually used as manure. There 
is a far better use for a part of these offal fish, and that is 
as poultry food, for which they are valuable, especially to 
fowls in confinement. 

There are several ways of preparing the fish. The best and 
simplest is to take a portable boiler about half full of fish, fill 
up with cold water and start your fire. As soon as the water 
comes to a good boil, the fish will be sufficiently cooked and 
ready to be removed. When the fish are cooked they fall to 
pieces. Now take some of the fish, bones and all, and mix 
corn-meal with this and the liquid the fish were boiled in, and 
you have a mess which the young birds will greedily devour 
and will thrive upon. Do not feed too much at a time nor 
oftener than every other day on this food, for too much of a 
good thing is as bad as not any. Some persons on the shore 
or near the fisheries cook a small mess fresh for their fowls 
every other day, while others with large flocks of fowls and 
ducks cook a barrel at a time and make a slop with them, 
the juice they are cooked in and bran, corn-meal or corn and 
oats ground, mixed with it, feeding the mess with evident 
good results. 



FEEDING AND KEARftfG. 121 

But in the absence of fish, potatoes boiled in milk, where 
there is plenty of the latter upon the place, is an admirable 
preparation to feed to young growing chicks. A mixture of 
one-third corn-meal and wheat bran, with the above, if given 
to them fresh every day, will make the young chicks grow 
wonderfully, more especially if they have a run at large in the 
fields, where they can exercise themselves properly by hunt- 
ing and chasing insects, grasshoppers, etc. 

It will not pay to purchase milk for this purpose, proba- 
bly, although this depends upon circumstances. But upon 
the country estate there is always surplus milk (sweet or 
sour) that is thrown to the pigs. Give this to the young 
poultry, and it may thus be turned to better account. And 
although sweet milk is better than stale for this purpose, yet 
any kind of skimmed milk, sour milk, whey, buttermilk or 
bonnaclabber, is excellent to mix the dough with, which is 
fed to chickens. Try this, you in the country who have been 
in the habit of throwing your waste milk into the hog-pen ; 
and as for the poultry raiser in village or suburbs of the city, 
latterly the advent of creameries has in some cases placed 
within his reach skimmed milk peddled from these estab- 
ments at low prices. 

Amount of Food Required Daily. 

In an experiment in England for the purpose of determin- 
ing the daily amount of food consumed by different breeds of 
fowls, the following was the result : 

Dorkings 6 ounces 391 grains. 

Games 

Buff Cochins 

Langshans 

Dominicks 

Brown Leghorns 4 

Hamburghs 

Polish ' 

Guinea Fowls 

It will be seen that the buff Cochins eat much more than 
any of the other breeds, and to show the increase of weight in 
proportion to food consumed it may be stated that each 
gained daily as follows for twenty days : 



4 ' 


275 


17 ' 


296 


7 ' 


31 


4 ' 


326 


4 ' 


398 


4 ' 


' 120 


4 


28 


4 


182 



122 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Dorkings 138 grains laid 130 eggs per year. 

Games 92 " 100 " 

Buff Cochins 77 " 115 " 

Langshans 123 " 115 " 

Dominicks 92 " 110 " 

Brown Leghorns 107 " 190 " 

Hamburghs 92 ' " 239 " 

Polish 46 " 98 

Guineas — " 75 " 

It will be noticed that the Hamburgs gave the largest 
number of eggs and the Brown Leghorns next, but the Dor- 
kings and Langshans made the largest daily gain in growth, 
while the Cochins, though consuming enormously of food, 
did not show its effect either in eggs or the first twenty days' 
growth. Taking the three highest for weight at six months, 
the following was the result: 

Dorkings weighed 10 pounds, 1 ounce and 685 grains. 

Buff Cochins weighed 9 pounds, 13| ounces. 

Langshans weighed 10 pounds, 5 ounces and 437 grains. 

Tbe greatest gain was made by the Langshans, but for the 
food allowed the Dorkings are entitled to the honor. We 
give the above as the result of experiments in England. In 
this country the conditions would be reversed perhaps. Ham- 
burgs seldom lay as many as 239 eggs, but in England the 
climate seems best adapted to both Dorkings and Hamburgs. 
In estimating the results, the kind of food should be consid- 
ered, which was not given. We use corn largely in this 
country, and hence experiments here would be conducted 
differently. Chicks when hatched usually weigh about one 
and one-half ounces, those from the large breeds having an 
advantage. We hope some of our readers will conduct simi- 
lar experiments. 

Feeding. 

The frequent admonition to feed a variety of food is not 
given simply to gratify the desires or appetites of the birds, 
but for another purpose. The hen is used by us as a pro- 
ducer, and as she cannot produce anything without the ma- 
terial from which to do so, she is useless unless her wants 
are supplied. She consumes a large amount of carbon every 
times she inhales air, while the bones, flesh and nervous sys- 
tem are constantly being wasted and repaired. Should this 



FEEDING AND REARING. 123 

waste be permitted, without a renewal, the bird will die- 
starve — although she may be fed liberally, as far as certain 
hinds of food are concerned. If she received nothing bat 
corn, she would become very fat. as corn is rich in carbon, and 
her body would be kept warm from the heat created ; but 
while fat and apparently in good condition, her bones and 
tissues would gradually waste away, and she would droop and 
die without apparent cause. But food of a carbonaceous 
nature is required also in some for m as the heat of the body is 
necessary, while carbon is an important constituent of the 
yelk. Corn contains a small proportion of all the elements of 
food, but in insufficient quantities for the proper nourishment 
of a laying hen. We may divide the food proper into three 
kinds— carbonaceous; nitrogenous and phosphatic. The min- 
erals — lime, soda, potash, etc., must also be included. 

Some of the grains, such as wheat, oats and buckwheat, 
furnish quite an amount of all the elements needed, lime in- 
cluded, but as such foods are not perfectly balanced with all 
the hen requires, they serve her purpose for only a short time. 
Hence, when a chick is growing, the rapid formation of mus- 
cle and bone (uot fat) requires food rich in nitrogen, which is 
b°st given in the form of milk or meat, and it is the absence 
of nitrogenous food that causes them to die when they are 
fed on corn meal. The egg is largely composed of nitrogen, 
the white especially, and the hens that are fed on meat and 
milk as a part of their diet, will lay in winter if kept warm. 
To vary the food means to vary the quality of the articles pro- 
vided, in order that no element may be lacking, and while it 
is important that the food be of a varied character, in order 
to provide all the proper materials necessary, the fowls need 
succulent and bulky food for dietary purposes. Corn, wheat, 
meat, etc., are concentrated foods, and should be accompanied 
with grass or any kind of bulky food, in order to assist di- 
gestion, as well as plenty of water, just as a horse needs hay, 
although he may be allowed all the grain he desires. In feed- 
ing a variety, however, do not overfeed. Never allow the 
stock to get too fat, or the hens will lay soft-shell eggs or none 
at all. Fat interferes with the generative functions. Al- 
ways endeavor to make the hens exercise, by scratching for 
their food. If they are made to work and are fed on food 
containing the necessary elements, they will lay, and cannot 
refrain from doing so. 



124 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Why the Chicks do Not Grow. 

Several correspondents, writes Mr. P. H. Jacobs, have 
written asking for information regarding young chicks. One 
of them has been feeding largely of corn meal, and states that 
the chicks do well enough until they begin to feather, when 
they then droop and become sickly. 

This is due to the fact that corn meal contains but a small 
proportion of the elements that assist in the production of 
feathers. In developing feathers, and just when passing 
from the "downy" condition, the chick must have suita- 
ble food, and often, or it will perish, even when surrounded 
by an abundance of food not required for feather growth. A 
feather contains nitrogen and the phosphates, the nitrogen 
(as ammonia) being made known to the organs of smell when 
the feather is burned. This nitrogen is that which is de- 
rived from meat, milk, the gluten of wheat and oats, blood, 
and sometimes from green food, but most abundantly from 
meat, milk and wheat grains. The phosphates are derived 
principally from ground bone, wheat, oats and milk. The 
feather also contains sulphur, soda, magnesia, lime and other 
mineral elements, To properly feed the chicks, they should 
have such a variety of food as will contribute to all the wants 
of the body, and corn meal, though imparting fat or heat, 
will be found insufficient. While feeding these concentrated 
foods the chicks require, also, something of a bulky charac- 
ter, such as cooked potatoes, chopped grass, cabbage, lettuce 
or onions, which serve to assist the digestion. A complete 
food may be made as follows: Cook ground oats until well 
done, in enough water to serve the purpose, until a gallon of 
the porridge has been prepared. Then add a quart of fresh 
blood or two pounds of finely chopped meat, half a pound of 
linseed meal, an ounce of salt, one-fourth of an ounce or sul- 
phur, a pound of ground bone, and enough water to allow it 
to cook fifteen minutes more. While hot, add half a gallon 
of milk, and thicken the mass to a stiff dough with one part 
middlings and two of corn meal. Of course this will make a 
large quantity, but if it be baked as bread and crumbled for 
the chicks, it will be all they will require, while it will keep 
for quite a length of time. It should be fed four times a day, 
and in addition the chicks should have green food. If pre- 
ferred, the mixture may be made in small quantities at a time 



FEEDING AND REARING. 125 

by simply soaking the ingredients oyer night and allowing the 
mixture to boil in the morning, then thickening and cook- 
ing in the shape of bread. 

Boiled Grain for Fattening Fowls. 

It has long been a custom with French poultry raisers to 
cook the grain fed to fattening fowls. This is done by boil- 
ing it in water until soft enough to be easily bruised between 
the fingers. At this stage the grain has swollen so that the 
farina, splitting the membrane which surrounds it, gives a 
bursted appearance. Poultry feeders generally know that 
fowls prefer the cooked grains to dry food, and that they 
thrive better and fatten quicker upon it. There is also a de- 
cided gain in the bulk of food treated in this way, and Its 
nutritive value is increased, as the following shows: 

Four pints of oats boiled will fill a pint measure seven 
times. 

Four pints of barley boiled will fill a pint measure ten 
times. 

Four pints of buckwheat boiled will fill a pint measure 
fourteen times. 

Four pints of maize boiled will fill a pint measure fifteeen 
times. 

Four pints of wheat boiled will fill a pint measure ten 
times. 

Four pints of rye boiled will fill a pint measure fifteen times. 

Rice increases in bulk considerably more than either of 
the six grains mentioned above. It is fed more to fowls now 
than formerly, as it is generally believed that it tends to 
whiten the meat. Some poultrymen claim that no saving is 
made in boiling the food, notwithstanding its increase in 
bulk, as there seems to be a corresponding lessening of its 
sufficing properties ; that seven pints of boiled oats will be 
consumed in the same time and by the same number of fowls 
as four pints of the dry grain. On these "pints" we shall be 
pleased to have the experience of our readers. Doubtless 
most of them will agree that a partial diet of cooked food is 
best for fowls, even though it effects no perceptible saving in 
the amount it takes to produce given results. It occurs to us 
that even admitting that it takes no less of the cooked, if the 
fowls fatten quicker and thrive better, it is a matter of 
economy to use the boiled rather than the dry grain. 



126 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Feeding and Laying. 

The best of feed sometimes fails to induce the hens to lay. 
This is not because the fowls do not get enough, but because 
it is not the kind they desire. It may be feed consisting of 
everything that serves to satisfy the demand for egg mate- 
rial, and yet no eggs will be the result. There are several 
causes for these complaints, one of the principal being the 
fact that a plentiful supply of pure fresh water is not always 
within reach, and unless water is plentiful the fowls will not 
lay. Water being the principal substance in an egg, it cannot 
be limited. Unless the water can be procured for the egg the 
fowl cannot lay. And in cold weather it must be so situated 
as to be either protected from freezing or else have a little 
warm water added to it occasionally. Now this is a troub- 
lesome job in winter, but water will freeze on cold days, and 
consequently is useless to the fowls when in a frozen condi- 
tion. The feed, however, even when of the best quality, may 
not give satisfaction. In that case, when no eggs are being 
derived, change it entirely for three or four days. Give 
something entirely different in the morning from that pre- 
viously given, even if inferior, but still give whole grains at 
nights in cold weather, for then the fowls go on the roost 
early in the evening, and have to remain in the coops until 
daylight, which is nearly thirteen hours, and so long a period 
demands the solid food in order to keep them warm during 
the long cold nights. Whole corn and wheat is best for them 
then, but in the morning any kind of mixed soft food makes 
a good meal for a change. The changes can be made by 
using good clover hay, steeped in warm water. After being 
chopped line, slightly sprinkle with meal, and feed warm, 
which will be very acceptable. A few onions chopped fine 
will also be highly relished. Parched ground oats or parched 
cracked corn is a splendid change of food for a few days from 
the ordinary routine of every-day. It stimulates them if fed 
warm, and is a good corrective of bowel complaints, espec- 
ially if some of the grains are parched till burned. The mat- 
ter of feeding is to give variety, and if the food is of good 
quality also, a good supply of eggs may be expected at all 
times, but with good quarters and plenty of water the pros- 
pects will be better. 



FEEDING AND REARING. 127 

How to Raise Chicks. 

The best liens for bringing out chickens are Wyandottes 
and Plymouth Rocks. Some varieties will not sit for the 
purpose at all, such as Leghorns, Spanish and Houdans. 
How such fowls perpetuate their species, if their eggs are not 
hatched by other fowls, we do not know, unless, indeed, that 
if left to themselves in a natural state, where the eggs which 
they lay would not be gathered every day, but left in the 
nests, they might, when nests get full, take to sitting on 
them. In a domestic state, however, such varieties seldom 
get broody, which compels people who wish to breed from 
them to keep a few fowls of another kind to hatch their eggs, 
March, April and May are the best months to hatch chick- 
ens, but eggs may be set even in January by those who have 
houses and wish to have well grown chicks in the summer, 
either for exhibiting at shows or for early laying. The risk 
of losing the young broods, however, during cold weather, 
and extra care and attention they require, certainly do not in 
ordinary seasons repay the trouble of rearing them. Some 
varieties may even be very successfully reared later than the 
months mentioned, owing to the rapidity with which they 
grow to maturity. Leghorns are perhaps the fastest grow- 
ers, often beginning to lay before they are four months old. 
If an increase of eggs is desired in the poultry yard, before 
large sums of money are expended in the purchase of good 
layers we would recommend the keeping of no hens after 
the second year. Three bushels of meal will keep eight hens 
and one hundred chicks the first month, four bushels the 
second month, and five bushels the third month. 

Feeding for Eggs and for Market. 

At the season when fowls are being marketed, all the poul- 
try cannot be fed alike. Those intended for sale should be 
separated from those that are to be fed as layers. 

The food for the market fowls should consist largely 
of corn, and should be given often and plentifully, while 
too much exercise is not desirable. The hens, on the 
contrary, should not be fat, and should be fed only 
sparingly of corn or fat-producing material. If the lay- 
ing hens are allowed in the yard with those for market, they 
will soon become worthless, so far as producing eggs is con- 



128 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

eerned, and will be more profitable if shipped off with the 
others. And yet we can point to many who feed all their 
fowls alike, making no distinction and giving no thought to 
the real object they have in view. 

These little matters of management are the turning points 
of success in poultry. The breeding stock-laying hens must 
be kept differently trom the fattening stock. The horses, 
cows, sheep and hogs receive proper consideration in such 
matters, and the poultry is no exception, though the rule is 
overlooked so far as its application to them is concerned. It 
is a loss of time and also expensive in not feeding properly, 
and we trust the advice given will be regarded. 

Hens in Wet Weather. 

The damp, wet seasons are more injurious to the fowls 
than is the cold, dry weather of winter. Dampness is the 
source of one-half the diseases. It is not so much the amount 
of water they come in actual contact with, as the constant 
humidity of the air and dampness of their surroundings. 
Damp weather means an accumulation of mud and filth in 
the yards and coops, which is always in a state of decompo- 
sition and a source of annoyance. To avoid this difficulty 
the coops should be cleaned daily and the floors sprinkled 
with fine, dry, land plaster or dry earth. The yards should 
be drained, and every precaution used to turn the water away. 
In the case of chicks they quickly succumb to dampness. 
The moisture is constantly being evaporated, thus carrying 
off the animal heat. The same is true of adult fowls. They 
do not get wet as far as the water passing through the feath- 
ers on their backs is concerned, but the under parts of their 
bodies have no protection against the water on the ground, 
which soaks in and chills them, the result being roup and 
other diseases which arise from colds. A few pinches of red 
pepper in the food is excellent for them at such times. 

Milk for Hens. 

Fanny Field thus expresses herself as to the food value of 
milk for hens: "I quite agree with the correspondent of the 
American Poultry Yard, who declares there is no feed on 
earth so good for fowls and chicks as milk in some form. For 
very young chicks we make the clabbered milk into Dutch 



FEEDING AND KEAKING. 129 

cheese, and use the whey to mix feed for other fowls and 
chickens. From the time they are a week old till sent to 
market for broilers, our early chicks have all the milk, sweet 
or sour, or buttermilk, that they can drink. If the home sup- 
ply of milk falls short of the demand, we buy skim milk at 
two cents a quart, and consider it cheap at -that. For laying 
hens in winter there is nothing better than a liberal supply 
of milk. A pan of warm milk, with a dash of pepper in it, 
every morning, will do more toward inducing hens to lay in 
cold weather than all the egg-food in creation. For fattening 
fowls, we find that boiled vegetables mixed with milk and 
barley or corn-meal will put on flesh at an astonishing rate. 
Don't be afraid to give milk to fowls or chicks. 

From the time when the chicks are given the first feed up 
to within the last day of the old fowl's life, milk may be 
safely and profitably given." 

Vigor in Chickens. 

The number of complaints that eggs do not hatch are 
legion, and every season witnesses failure from many different 
causes. The chief difficulty in the way of securing strong, 
healthy chicks is usually lack of vigor in the breeding stock. 
Although each year the chicks show inherited weakness, yet 
the miserable scrub roosters may be seen on every farm. It 
may be safely claimed that there are some who do not care 
anything about the kind of rooster used, and yet upon the 
characteristics of the male depend the uniformity and excel- 
lence of the chicks. In-breeding is so generally allowed as to 
make it a matter of surprise that eggs hatch at all. It is 
comparatively cheap to change the males every season. We 
do not mean that such changes can be effected by simply 
trading eggs with a neighbor, for in that manner but little 
new blood is brought into the flock, but by purchasing eggs or 
males from a good strain of pure breeds. If eggs are pur- 
chased, of course a year's time will elapse before the breed so 
introduced can be made serviceable, but it is a cheap mode of 
making a beginning. The chicks from a strong, vigorous, 
pure-bred cock will be uniform in appearance. They will be 
nearly all alike, and the eggs from hens running with such a 
cock will usually hatch well. One-half the chicks that die in 
the shell are too weak to work their way out before they per- 
ish, and the apparent mystery is not difficult of solution. 



130 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Combination Summer Foods. 

Corn should be left out of the food altogether during the 
summer, as it is too heating and largely conduces to fat. If 
the hens are fed twice a day, the meal in the mornirg should 
be composed of whatever is intended for them other than 
whole grains. An excellent mixture is ten pounds of ground 
oats, three pounds of bran, two pounds of middlings, and two 
pounds of ground meat (or meat in any shape). Scald with 
boiling water, and add a teaspoonful of salt for every twenty 
hens. A tablespoonful of the mixture in the morning is 
enough, as it should be the aim not to give as much as the 
hens require, so as to compel them to work during the day. 
If it is desired to give them a noon meal let it be grass, 
which is better for them than any kind of concentrated food. 
At night, wholewheat or oats should be given. 

By combining the food as directed, it will furnish the hens 
with all they require, as the compound contains the elements 
desired for egg production. 

If the hens are to be fatted for market give corn and corn- 
meal plentifully, and feed four times a day. Be careful not 
to keep the laying hens in the same yards with those which 
arc intended to be sent to market. 

Utilizing Bulky Refuse. 

A large amount of valuable material may be utilized if 
cooked. I'ea-pops, string-beans, apples, squashes and many 
other articles, if placed in a pot and boiled until done, will 
furnish a quantity of food that is really more serviceable than 
too much grain. Ducks and geese may be kept at but little 
expense by such mode of feeding, while turkeys and chickens 
will appreciate the change at once. Turnips and carrots, if 
cooked and fed to all kinds of fowls, will furnish a cheap and 
nutritious diet, promoting the health and preventing too 
much fat. In feeding such material no grain is necessary 
except at night, when whole corn, wheat and oats should be 
given. One of the most valuable foods is cooked potatoes and 
sour milk. If this is fed, being first thickened with ground 
oats, it will cause the hens to lay more eggs than when an 
exclusive grain diet is given. Fowls should have plenty of 
bulky food if they are to be made profitable. 



FEEDING AND REARING. 131 

Value of Bones. 

Poultry breeders do not seem to appreciate the great value 
of bones for tbeir fowls, and but a limited few ever make use 
of them for this purpose. No matter whether the birds are 
confined or not, they are sure to be benefited by a moderate 
quantity of bones, though those that are kept in close con- 
finement need them most. Nearly every family of any size 
has refuse bone enough from the kitchen to afford the poultry 
quite a treat from time to time, and when this is not the case, 
or when the supply runs short, enough can be procured each 
week from the nearest butcher at a very small price, many 
butchers being glad to get rid of them. These can be crushed 
by using a large stone and a heavy hammer, though there is 
now a very good and cheap mill made for the purpose— cost- 
ing but $5.00 without legs and $7.00 with legs — which pays 
for itself several times over during the season, where large 
flocks are kept, as it not only grinds and crushes bones, but 
also oyster shells, corn, etc. The bones crush best when dry, 
and should be reduced to about the size of a small pea. 

Soft-Shell Eggs. 

If your hens lay soft-shell eggs it is an indication that 
there is a lack of lime in the food. They should have ground 
shells or bone, with a change of food. But the soft-shelled 
eggs do not happen because the hens are not supplied with lime 
always. It is often due to the hens being too fat, or from' 
lack of exercise. In such case the food should be reduced to 
grass during the day and oats at night, giving them, however, 
plenty of litter of some kind in which to scratch. It is the 
poor condition and the over-fat condition that causes many of 
the difficulties with poultry. Whenever you get a soft- 
shelled, misshapen or double-yelked egg, or the eggs do not 
seem to hatch, you may conclude that your hens are too fat. 

Imperial Egg Food. 

Prof. Jordan has analyzed what is known as the Imperial 
Egg Food, and gives the proportions as follows: Moisture 
and organic matter 16.05 per cent, mineral matter 83.95 per 
cent, nitrogen 1.00 per cent, carbonate of lime 55.6 per cent, 
bone 14 to 17 per cent. The 83.95 per cent of mineral matter 
include the carbonate of lime and bone, probably, while the 



132 



RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



nitrogen is included in the organic matter. To make the 
above intelligible, the mineral matter consists of oyster shells 
and bone, while the organic matter may consist of pepper, 
fenugreek, blood, dried meat of ground linseed meal. Hence, 
10 pounds of the egg food would consist of about the follow- 
ing: Ground shells 6 pounds, ground bone 2 pounds, ground 
meat H pounds, fenugreek I pound. 




CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 133 



Care and Management- 



Treatment of Young Chicks. 

3s a general rule, writes Mr. G. M. T. Johnson, of 
Binghamton, N. Y., do not disturb the chicks for 
the first twenty-four hours after their birth, if the 
hen will stay on the nest. The little things will 
not take any harm if they do not eat for the first 
forty-eight hours. The most they need is brood- 
ing. At this period they get more strength from it than from 
food. As a preventive of vermin rub a little fresh grease of 
any kind, say the size of a pea, on the top of the chicks' heads 
or backs. Do not put sulphur on the hen or chicks, as it will 
get in their eyes and poison them. 

For the first week stale bread soaked in milk or water, or 
hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, is best. Feed onions chopped 
fine, and let there be handy some ground oyster shells or 
pieces of crockery pounded fine. Indian meal when uncooked 
is bad for young chickens. It swells and hardens in their 
crops. Indian pudding seasoned with black pepper is good 
for the first six weeks. As soon as they can eat it, cracked 
corn or wheat is better for chicks than meal. They do not 
waste as much, it does not get sour, and one can have it near 
by them so that they are not obliged to feed so often. Do not 
rout the little chicks out in the morning before they wish to 
go. Do not let them out in the wet. Feed little and often, 
especially before they retire. Little chicks are frequently fed 
in the morning and not again till ten o'clock, then they eat 
too much. They are stuffed one hour and starved the next. 
By this means the chicks become stunted and otherwise 
diseased. Keep water near them in dishes so shallow that 
they will not be drowned. Do not set the coop on the cold, 
damp ground. If early in the season put the coop in a barn 
or shed with a floor to it. Little chicks need to be kept warm 



134 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

and dry. When they stand on the cold ground all night they 
are likely to be sick the next day, and soon the whole brood 
will be dragging their wings on the ground, peeping piteously 
for a few days and then dying. Do not let them out doors in 
the rain, but let them out of the coop or the uneasy mother 
will step on them. It is a mistake to put straw in the coop. 
The little chicks get their feet entaDgled and then the hen 
treads on them. Fine coal ashes are good in the coop. Later 
in the season, after the ground gets 'dry and warm, put the 
coop on soft ground if it is convenient, and sprinkle powdered 
sulphur over the ground. Change the position of the coop 
frequently. 

It is not best to take the hen away from the chicks too 
early. As long as the chicks will brood, permit it. Warmth, 
good brooding and protection from the weather are better for 
chicks than good food, and the latter is very essential. Many 
a promising lot of chicks is ruined by getting chilled at night. 
As soon as the hen is taken away the chicks must be pro- 
tected from the cold. It is a good plan to place the hen and 
chicks in the house where you wish them to stay after they 
are weaned. They will run out from there, and when the 
hen leaves them thry will huddle together and so keep warm. 

Do not furnish roosts for chicks. Oblige them to sit on 
the floor until nearly grown. Crooked breast bones are often 
caused by roosting too young. A great mistake, often made, 
is the trying to raise too many chickens on the same range 
of ground. 

Many or few, they will wander about so far away from the 
coop and no farther. The ground over which they run will 
furnish naturally about so much in the form of bugs and 
worms, which are very conducive to the health of the 
chickens. If this is divided among a large flock each will get 
only a small portion. The larger ones will tread on the 
smaller and the chicks will grow slowly and be inferior. 

It depends upon circumstances whether or not to allow the 
hen full range. She will pick up many luxuries for her 
chicks, but if she is a roamy, uneasy body she will worry the 
chicks to death by dragging them around. As soon as possible, 
cull out all inferior and defective specimens, thus giving their 
room to others. Select such fowls as you wish for keeping 
over. This requires experience and judgment, as many an 
awkward, inferior looking chick develops into a fine bird. 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 135 

As soon as the young cockerels begin to worry the hens 
and pullets, it is best to put them in a yard by themselves. 
For the larger varieties, Brahmas and Cochins, it is best to 
set very early in the season, as it takes so much longer for the 
chicks to mature. March and April chicks do better than 
later ones. They are large enough when the ground opens to 
make war on bugs and worms, which are then very plenty 
and so desirable for the growth of the chick. They get well 
feathered out by the time nights are cold in the fall. 

The Hatching Period. 

Setting hens should have a daily run. Do not remove 
them forcibly from their nests, but let the door be open 
every-day at a given hour for a certain time while the atten- 
dant is about. Perhaps for the first day or two you may have 
to take them gently off their nests, and deposit them on the 
ground outside the door. They will soon, however, learn the 
habit and come out when the door is open, eat, drink, have a 
dust bath and return to their nests. 

While hens are off their nests some people dampen the eggs 
with lukewarm water. It is claimed that moisture is neces- 
sary, and that the chicks gain strength by the process. This 
may be correct, and in very dry weather, perhaps, necessary. 
It is generally, however, a mistake to meddle too much with 
nest or eggs ; the hen is only made restless and dissatisfied by 
so doing. While the eggs are hatching out it is best not to 
touch the nest. It is very foolish to fuss the old bird and 
make her angry, as she may tread on the eggs in her fury, and 
crush the chicks when they are in the most delicate stage of 
hatching. 

Picking off the shell to help the imprisoned chick is always 
a more or less hazardous proceeding, and should never be had 
recourse to unless the egg has been what is termed "billed" 
for a long time, in which case the chick is probably a weakly 
one and may need a little help, which must be given with the 
greatest caution, in order that the tender membranes of 
the skin shall not be lacerated. A little help should be given 
at a time, every two or three hours ; but if any blood is per- 
ceived stop at once, as it is a proof that the chick is not quite 
ready to be liberated. If, on the contrary, the minute blood 
vessels which are spread all over the interior of the shell are 



13<) RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

bloodless, then you may be sure the chick is in some way 
stuck to the shell by its feathers, or is too weakly to get out 
of its prison-house. 

The old egg shells should be removed from under the hen, 
but do not take^away her chicks from her one by one as they 
hatch out, as is very often advised, for it only makes her very 
uneasy, and the natural warmth of her body is far better for 
them at that early stage than artificial heat. Should only a 
few chicks have been hatched out of the sitting, and the 
other remaining eggs show no signs of life when examined, 
no sounds of the little birds inside, then the water test should 
be tried. Get a basin of warm water, not really hot, and put 
those eggs about which you do not feel certain into it. If 
they contain chicks they will float on top ; if they move or 
dance the chicks are alive, but if they float without move- 
ment the inmates will most likely be dead ; if they ( the 
eggs ) are rotten they will sink to the bottom. Put the float- 
ing ones back under the hen, and if, on carefully breaking 
the others, you find the test is correct (one puncture will be 
sufficient to tell you this ), bury them at once. 

Chicks should never beset fr^efrom their shells in a hurry, 
because it is necessary for their well-being that they should 
have taken in all the yelk, for that serves them as food for 
twenty-four hours after they see the light, so no apprehension 
need be felt if they do not eat during that period, if they 
seem quite strong, gain their feet, and their little downy 
plumage spreads out and dries properly. Their best place is 
under the hen for the time mentioned. 

When all are hatched, clean the nest completely, and well 
dredge the hen's body with sulphur powder ; give her the 
chicks, and place chopped egg and bread-crumbs within 
reach. The less they are disturbed during the first two or 
three days the better. Warmth is essential, and a constantly 
brooding hen is a better mother than one which fusses the 
infant chicks about and keeps calling them to feed. Pen 
the hen in a coop and let the chicks have free egress. The 
best place to stand the coops is under sheltered runs, guarded 
from cold winds, the ground dry and deep in sand and mortar 
si flings. Further warmth is unnecessary if the mothers are 
good ; and if the roof is of glass, so as to secure every ray of 
sun, so much the better. Cleanliness of coops, beds, floor- 
ng, water vessels and food tins must be absolute. The 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 137 

oftener the chicks are fed the better, but food must never be 
left. Water must be made safe, or death from drowning and 
chills may be expected. The moment weather permits, free 
range on grass for several hours daily is desirable, but shelter 
should always be at hand. 

, Eggs for Hatching. 

It is often a problem with some why they at times secure 
good hatches from a portion of the eggs placed under hens, 
while but poor results are obtained from other sittings. In 
the first place, in a majority of cases, the trouble is with the 
eggs and not with the hens. For hatching purposes, espec- 
ially in the winter, the eggs must be collected as soon as they 
are laid, in order to prevent them from becoming chilled, for 
extreme cold is fatal to the germ. No monstrosities in eggs 
should be used, such as those large enough for two yelks, or 
that are pointed at both ends. Ordinary, smooth, medium- 
sized, well-shaped eggs should be selected, and the fresher 
the better. The nest in winter should be made in a warm 
location, which is not exposed to drafts, nor is dampness essen- 
tial, 'though a moist nest is better for the summer. Avoid giv- 
ing the hens too many eggs to cover. Common consent has 
adopted thirteen eggs as a sitting, no matter whether the hen 
is large or small, but it is more economical in winter to place 
only ten eggs under a hen, as she will be enabled to impart 
more heat to a smaller than to a larger number, as a full nest 
sometimes does more injury than one but partially filled, 
owing to the larger number of eggs that become exposed, 
there to remain until they in turn are changed to the center 
of the nest by the hen. In extremely cold weather, an egg so 
exposed is destroyed by the low temperature, but if the hen 
succeeds in covering a smaller number, she will save the 
difference in the cost of the eggs required, and also hatch 
more and stronger chicks. It would be well if the eggs were 
tested after being under the hen a week. The incubator 
operators understand this, and why should not the same prac- 
tice be followed with sitting hens? It is a very easy matter. 
Make an egg tester by pasting paper boards together, or by 
using thin boards, if preferred. A box should be made so as 
to fit over a lamp globe ; say a square box, with a round hole 
on top and an oval hole on one of the sides. Place the box over 
the lamp, allowing chimney to pass through the hole on top; 



138 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

now darken the room, using no light but that from the lamp: 
hold each egg to the oval hole on the side, and look through 
the egg at the light. If the eggs are a week old they will ap- 
pear dark, should they contain chicks, the upper part or large 
end, appearing clear: this clear space around the inside of the 
large end is the air sack (or air bladder, as some term it). Below 
t his air sack the contents of the egg will appear dark. Should 
the egg contain no chick, it will appear clear ; and if compared 
with fresh eggs, will show the same appearance ; therefore, 
always use a fresh egg for comparison. Put the dark eggs 
back in the nest, and keep the clear ones, cook them and keep 
them for feeding the young chicks. 

How to Start and Stock a Hennery. 

The subject of poultry keeping, writes Dr. A. M. Dickie, is 
attracting attention now from parties who have not hitherto 
given it any notice. Not knowing anything about it practi- 
cally, they ask for advice and information respecting methods 
of procedure. To answer such inquiries privately would re- 
quire too much time and work, and we take advantage of the 
opportunity presented here to discuss the general principles 
underlying the subject in a public way. 

Poultry is kept for two ends: First, to supply eggs, and 
second, to furnish flesh for food. In some sections one of 
these ends is sought, and in others the different one, while 
occasionally a man may be found who wishes to combine 
them both. It will be well, then, for a person to determine 
what he wants to produce in his poultry yards. If he wants 
eggs mainly he will select a different breed or breeds than 
would be chosen to produce market poultry. 

A person not knowing the habits or characteristics of the 
different breeds or varieties, may easily make a mistake in 
selecting the proper one for bis purpose. Since the furore in 
poultry fancying and poultry journalizing has run so high, 
admirers of particular varieties have been so enthusiastic in 
praise of their favorites that every good quality which could 
be enumerated has been claimed for their specialty. The 
best layers, the smallest eaters, the quietest, the best foragers, 
the handsomest, the most profitable, in every way the most 
desirable fowl, etc., is claimed respectively by breeders of 
nearly all the different kinds of fowls. 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 139 

Most every one should know — but everyone don't— that no 
one breed can excel in all these characteristics applied to all 
breeds. Some will lay more eggs in a given time, say a year, 
than others ; some will make more meat than others ; some 
will sit better than others ; some are better mothers than 
others ; some are hardier than others ; some will eat more 
than others ; and so we might go on to the end of the list of 
qualities, because no one breed is best for all purposes. But 
if a man knows what he wants to produce in his poultry yards, 
his liability to make a selection is much reduced, unless he 
makes the mistake at the beginning of wanting to secure all 
the ends at once for which poultry is kept. 

Where one wishes to make a specialty of egg production, 
he must leave meat production to be pursued by somebody 
else, and the reverse. The best layers are not best for table 
use, and, conversely, the best for table use are not the best 
layers, no matter who says so. Most people understand that 
the best milch cow will not make the best beef cow at the 
same time ; and that the best brood sow will not be best for 
pork. The same principle is applicable to a chicken. The 
juices, fats, salt, aroma, etc., that go to make savory, tooth- 
some beef in the one case go off into the milk pail, in the 
other it goes into the egg basket. It is not a very difficult 
matter to make a good sandwich, provided one has the 
material, but it can't be made all of meat or bread or butter, 
though meat, bread and butter are all necessary. So if you 
want eggs you must have one kind, and if you want meat 
another kind of chicken is necessary. 

A Use for Feathers. 

To utilize the feathers of ducks, chickens and turkeys 
generally thrown aside as refuse, trim the plume from the 
stump, inclose them in a light bag, rub the whole as if wash- 
ing clothes, and you will secure a perfectly uniform and light 
down, excellent for quilting coverlets and not a few other 
purposes. 

Preparing Nests for Sitters. 

An important thing is to learn how to prepare the nests of 
your sitting hens. Try to make the nests to fit as nearly as 
possible the shape of 'the hen's body. Use damp earth, as it is 



140 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

easily shaped, and it serves the purpose of furnishing the eggs 
with needful moisture. The curve of the nest must be 
neither too great nor so small as not to keep the eggs near to- 
gether. In case trouble may be expected from rats, cover 
nest, hen and all, every night, with a box having wire cloth 
at the end or sides to let in air. 

Don't use hay, as the seeds in it will bait the mice, and the 
liens will be likely to scratch for hay seed, and thus break the 
eggs. Straw well broken and made soft, is the best material. 
Don't cut the straw in a machine, as that fills the nest with 
sharp points that prick the hen and annoy the young chicks. 

Now keep in mind that the nest of your sitter must be 
kept free from lice during the whole term of incubation ; keep 
the whole building free from them, nests and all. Any pre- 
paration that will aid the poulterer in annihilating lice in 
his houses and runs, or which will infallibly destroy these in- 
sidious enemies of domestic poultry that cause our birds so 
much annoyance and harm, is "a good thing" to have at 
hand by all breeders and fanciers who have a care for the 
comfort, health and welfare of their poultry stock. 

There are several methods adopted and plans in vogue to 
help the fowl-keeper in this matter. Tobacco, snuff, whale- 
oil, sulphur, petroleum, carbolic powder and acid, coarse pep- 
per sif tings, etc., are applied upon the fowl, under the feath- 
ers or upon roosts and in the nests, with various results, more 
or less successful in the course of time. 

Common, cheap, powdered sulphur you can always get at 
the druggists'. Scatter it in the nest and under the feathers 
of the sitting hens, and you will not be troubled with lice. If 
the lice be left to get over everything and the nests are full 
of them, the best way is to clean out and burn all the old 
nests, whitewash the house and nest-boxes inside and out, 
make clean fresh nests, sprinkling them well with sulphur, 
and your hens will reward you for the comfort you have 
afforded them. To rid the hens of lice, dust them well with 
flour of sulphur at night. The heat of the hen's body in the 
nest will cause the sulphur to continually give off a smell, 
which keeps lice and other vermin at a respectful distance. 
Provide dust baths where your sitters can have access to them 
when they come off to feed. You are supposed to have laid 
up a stock of dry road dust, which you should collect in sum- 
mer or early fall and store it where it will not gather damp- 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 141 

ness and freeze, and keep it dry and throw in a little every 
week to make up for what the fowls throw out while they are 
exulting over your generous care, and you may be sure it will 
be a paying item. But if yoa have neglected this seasonable 
provision, and the ground is now wet, substitute coal ashes. 
This material will do very well. 

Spring Breeding of Poultry. 

An English correspondent of the Country Gentleman thus 
expresses himself: "Where it is intended to produce early 
chickens for market or for home use, there should be a lot of 
stock birds for that purpose separate from those which are to 
produce the layers and breeders. In nearly all countries the 
breeding of early chickens is about the most profitable part 
of poultry keeping. The prices which can be realized the 
first four months of the year leave a large margin to the pro- 
ducer and where the farm is suited from its position and soil to 
early breeding, and there is a good market for the fowls within 
reach, this is a work that we should recommend the breeder 
to go in for. He may hatch from pullets' eggs if that be 
necessary, as it most probably will, for though the chicks will 
not be so hard as would be those from hens' eggs, yet as they 
are to be killed off, no harm will be done. The birds will be 
fed up at the right time, and whatever weakness may be in 
them will not be transmitted to any other than themselves. 
To secure the chickens being ready in time, they should be 
hatched in November and December. The former will be 
ready for market in February, the latter in March or April, 
these being the best months of the year, so far as prices are 
concerned. This set of breeding pens may be broken up in 
December, unless a few more chicks are to be bred in Jan- 
uary, and the ground may, after a short rest, be occupied by 
the regular breeding stock, which need not be mated until 
the middle or end of January. It is most desirable that the 
birds which have laid eggs for the production of the early 
chickens should not be relied upon for those from which the 
breeders and layers are to be obtained. In the case of pullets 
especially, the strain upon the system from the production of 
so many eggs will have weakened them, and this would be 
injurious to the later progeny. These, if of a sitting variety, 
may be used for that purpose, as they become broody, and 



142 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

this will give them a much needed rest. But if non-sitters, 
they may be rested by the discouragement of laying for a 
time. The plan here recommended will be found best suited 
to the production of healthy, strong, large fowls. I do not 
wish my meaning to be mistaken. I believe in early breed- 
ing, i. e., early in the year, so as to get the hens to lay before 
the winter sets in, which they will not do if allowed to hatch 
late ; but I do not believe in the production of stock birds at 
an unreasonable period of the year, and from pullets. Feb- 
ruary is early to set eggs, but not too early. April— the 
month when most farm hens in this country, if not well at- 
tended to, begin to sit— is getting late, and May is, under 
ordinary circumstances, too late." 

Cleanliness in the Poultry House. 

It is a disagreeable task at all times to clean out the poul- 
try houses and coops, but, like every other undertaking, much 
depends upon the systematic manner in which the work is 
performed. We have seen persons labor hard all day, in the 
midst of filth, with shovel and hoe, cleaning the poultry 
house, and when the job was finished but little appearance of 
cleanliness was added to it. There is an easy, neat, effectual 
way of cleaning the poultry house, which, if adopted, re- 
moves the dread and disgust of the work, and makes it a 
pleasure instead of an annoyance. The first consideration is 
the construction of the floors. Dry dirt will not answer, for 
the reason that it absorbs the impurities, and the filth can 
only be removed with the dirt, thus entailing the necessity of 
changing the entire floor and substituting fresh material. 
We have found the use of the broom to be the cleanest, easi- 
est and best method of removing the droppings, but in order 
to do so the floor must be hard. Wood is the best material, 
but a wooden floor is liable to become a harboring place for 
rats unless it is well closed underneath or raised sufficiently 
to allow a cat or terrier to run in and out under it. When 
this is done the cold air comes up into the poultry house in 
winter and makes the wooden floors objectionable. Cement 
is better, for it not only prevents vermin from entering, but 
also the drafts. The cheapest way to make such a floor is to 
take one barrel of lime, two of sand, and one of gravel, one 
bushel of cement and two gallons liquid coal tar. Mix the in- 



CAKE AND MANAGEMENT. 143 

gredients dry, then add water and spread evenly on a hard 
surface which has been graveled. The coal tar may be 
brought to a proper consistency with coal oil. It keeps away 
lice and colors the cement. Let the floor remain undisturbed 
for twenty-four hours, and add another coating in order to 
stop the cracks. 

Tar in the Poultry House. 

Poultry dealers seem to have failed to discover the value 
of tar. It is very useful and valuable in many ways. Some 
breeders tar their poultry yard fences in preference to white- 
washing them, though we do not like to see it done, for it 
gives the surroundings such a gloomy, forbidding look. It 
undoubtedly contributes largely to the durability of the 
wood, protecting it from the ravages of storm and time. It 
is in the poultry house, however, that the value of tar is the 
greatest, for it conduces greatly toward healthfulness. When 
that scourge of the poultryman, cholera, makes its appear- 
ance, we would advise, first, a thorough clean irjg of the 
house ; next, a generous application of Carolina tar on all the 
joints, cracks and crevices of the inside of the building, and 
then plenty of fresh whitewash properly applied. The tar 
absorbs or drives away the taint of disease, and makes the 
premises wholesome. The smell is not offensive; in fact, 
many people like it, and it is directly opposite to unhealthy. 
To vermin, lice, etc., the smell of tar is very repulsive, and 
but few will remain after you have tarred the cracks, etc. A 
friend of ours in Maryland was once troubled with chicken 
cholera, and by adopting the above in connection with re- 
moving affected fowls, he soon put a stop to its ravages. A 
small lump of tar in the drinking water supplied to the 
fowls will be found beneficial, provided it is the Carolina tar, 
which is very different. 

Keeping the Breast Bone Straight. 

It is a well known fact that the heavier breeds of domes- 
tic poultry, like the Brahmas and Cochins, and especially the 
light Brahmas, are frequently injured by roosting on small or 
ill-contrived roosts or roosting benches, causing a curvature 
of the breast bone, when the birds are young and the bones 
very soft, tender and pliable. This deformity, while it does 



144 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

not show the bad defects in breeding from su ch deformed 
birds, is an eyesore, and detracts considerably from the sell- 
ing value of the bird, no matter how fine a specimen of the 
breed it may otherwise be. To remedy, in some measure, this 
tendency or irregularity, some of our breeders use very low 
roosting benches, in place of the high roosts of the old-style 
pattern. These benches are made with broad, rounding 
strips for the birds to rest on and cling to, and this generally 
prevents the bones of the breast from becoming deformed. 
The young of the Asiatics (Brahmas and Cochins) are, when 
young, very weak in the legs, causing them, when on the 
roost, to bear most of the weight on the roosting pole or strip 
directly on the breast bone, to relieve the strain on the legs. 
If the roosting poles are small or have sharp edges, it is sure 
to become painfully apparent in the curvature of the breast 
bones of the young birds, and to avoid it the roosts must be 
broad and rounded — say a 2* inch strip, rounded on the up- 
per side. This will be found about right. To avoid all pos- 
sibility of trouble from curvature of the breast bones, quite 
a number of Brahma and Cochin breeders now do away with 
the roosts altogether for their immature and growing young 
stock, and bed the birds dawn with straw, the same as is done 
with cattle, etc., and in some cases with ducks and geese. 
The young chicks soon get to understand how to use their 
"low roosts," and gather in on the straw every night as reg- 
ularly and as orderly as do cattle or sheep. 

While this bedding down is a good thing when properly 
managed, it must be removed and well aired each morning, 
and the house swept out. Just before roosting time, the 
straw is nicely spread in place again for the accomodation of 
the birds, and the same thing is repeated daily while the 
birds use this method of sleeping, which they are generally 
compelled to do until they have become fully matured, and 
the breast bones thoroughly hardened by age and maturity. 

Importance of Gravel. 

Sometimes many of the difficulties in the matter of keep- 
ing poultry may be traced to causes that are apparently very 
insignificant, yet they may for a long time cause much annoy- 
ance and trouble until the source of the evil is discovered. 
Failure to provide gravel is the cause .of indigestion and 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 145 

bowel diseases in some yards. On close, compact clay, soils, 
gravel is scarce, and the hens, if confined, can find no substi- 
tute for it. Coarsely ground oyster shells may be of assist- 
ance, but they are too soft to fully answer the purpose ; and, 
though gravel itself may be plentiful in the shape of small, 
smooth stones, yet to be serviceable, they must be sharp, as 
their action is purely mechanical. So important is the mat- 
ter of such material known to some poultrymen that they 
frequently pound broken glass or earthenware for the pur- 
pose, which has been swallowed by fowls with benefit, but 
whether a large quantity of such material is injurious or not 
is undetermined, some claiming that they give the broken 
glass liberally, while others maintain that something depends 
upon the size and shape of the pieces swallowed. If pounded 
bone be fed, the hens invariably select the sharpest and most 
irregular pieces, and it is their choicest delicacy. Sand is not 
a substitute for gravel, but imperfectly sifted coal ashes are 
of assistance. By keeping sharp gravel before the hens they 
will thrive better, and to be without it is equivalent to a 
deprivation of food, as the process of digestion will not be 
complete unless the food is fully masticated. 

Lime and Lime-Water. 

Without lime, poultry breeders would indeed be in a bad 
way, for there could be no whitewashing done, and that is so 
necessary to cleanliness and appearance as well as to the pre- 
servation of the wood ; while the vermin would be only too 
thankful to have it done away with, for it is so distasteful to 
them. Then there are the bits which are scattered in the 
houses, on the floors and around in the yards : these, too, 
would be greatly missed, for they keep things pure, sweet and 
clean, and free from foul odors which are so productive of 
disease. The hens, too, which lay such nice, fine eggs, would 
be at loss where to find material for their shells, and many a 
soft-shell egg would be the result. While, in its fresh as well 
as slaked state, it is so useful and beneficial in economic and 
profitable poultry management, lime-water is also of great 
use, though but few breeders seem to realize it. If it was 
more generally used there would be very few cases of the 
throat diseases, unless the diseases were of long standing or 
hereditary. It is very easily prepared, and will keep for quite 



14fi RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

a while.if kept sheltered from the sun. Take a piece of fresh 
lime about as large as a cocoanut. Slake it well in a little 
water. When it is slaked thoroughly fill up the small tub or 
large bucket with water and let it settle, after which pour off 
the water for use. 

How to Clean the Premises. 

First remove all the contents — nests, roosts and boards 
for catching the droppings. Then slake some stone lime with 
warm water, and make a bucket of thick whitewash, to every 
bucket of whitewash adding a tablespoonful of carbolic acid. 
Apply it thickly, outside and inside and into every crack and 
crevice, not even overlooking the under part of the roof or 
the floor. With a sponge apply kerosene to roost poles, nests 
and boards, first cleaning them thoroughly, and set Are to 
them. They will only burn until the oil is consumed, while 
the fire is easily extinguished. This will destroy every egg or 
parasite on them. They may be again anointed with kero- 
sene and placed in their proper positions in the poultry house. 
Fill the bottoms of the nests with dry earth, mixing a tea- 
spoonful of insect powder with the dirt. Place finely cut hay 
over the dirt, and sprinkle a little inseet powder and tobacco 
refuse in the hay. The house will then be clear of vermin. 
All filth must be carefully removed, while the old nests 
should be burned. The yards should now be spaded, so as to 
render them clean. By thus cleaning the premises disease 
may be warded off, the houses disinfected and rendered more 
comfortable for the hens and a larger number of eggs secured- 

Nests for Sitting Hens. 

Mistakes are made with the nests of sitting hens. Too 
many are made that are so small that the hen is unable to 
perform her duties of sitting down upon and stirring the eggs 
without smashing one or two. A roomy nest should be sup- 
plied—not too large — having a bottom of rather soft mater- 
ial resting on dirt, with plenty of straw well packed about 
the sides. Such a nest, especially early in the season, is very 
desirable, retaining as it does the heat for a much longer 
time than a carelessly made nest of loose hay in a box. 

The best receptacle for a nest, where one has plenty of 
room, is an ordinary flour barrel. Cut in the side a hole large 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 147 

enough for-one hen to pass through, and then hinge a small 
door to open and shut at pleasure. The advantage of such a 
nest is that nothing can be more secluded. There are no 
draughts of cold air sucking through the cracks into the 
nests. They are easily inspected, if not made too deep, and 
there is ample space for any hen within the barrel. A door 
prevents the hen from looking out much better than a wire 
screen. A hen that cannot see all that is going on outside is 
less restless. 

Material for the Dust Bath, 

The dust bath is the toilet of the hen. With it she cleans 
her body and feathers, rids herself of vermin, and delights in 
the enjoyment it affords. In winter, however, when the 
ground is frozen hard, it sometimes becomes a difficult matter 
to provide the hens with a dust bath, especially if there are 
several flocks. In summer is the time to lay in a supply of dirt 
for the purpose. The dirt should be fine and well sifted, in 
order that it may be more completely adapted to the purposes 
intended. Wood ashes are unsuitable, owing to the caustic 
properties of the potash, which creates sores on the skin, 
should the weather be damp. Finely sifted coal ashes, en 
tirely free from admixture with wood ashes, are excellent' 
but a full supply is not always obtained. The cheapest and 
easiest mode is to lay in a supply of dirt, either from the road 
or the field, but it should be perfectly dry and stored in a dry 
place, or it cannot be used when the necessity arises. In win- 
ter a box one yard square and six inches deep, filled within an 
inch of its top with the dirt is just what the hens will appre- 
ciate. The dirt may remain in the box as long as it is dry 
and clean, but should be removed at least once a week. By 
sprinkling a few drops of a solution of carbolic acid in thet 
dust bath any unpleasaat odors may be removed and the dirt 
rendered more aceeptable. 

How to Produce Layers. 

Mr. L. Wright says: "In every lot of hens some will be 
better layers than others. Let us suppose we start with six 
Houdans— a cock and five hens. Probably out of this five 
two may lay thirty eggs per annum more than either of the 
others ; their eggs should be noticed and only these set. By 
following this for a few years a very great increase in egg 



148 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

production may be attained. My attention was drawn to 
this subject by a friend having a Brahma pullet which laid 
nearly three hundred eggs in one twelve-month, though value- 
less as a fancy bird, and the quality descended to several of her 
progeny; and I have since found instances which prove con- 
clusively that a vast improvement might easily be effected in 
nearly all our breeds were that careful selection of brood 
stocks made for that purpose which the fancier bestows on 
other objects. It is to be regretted more is not done in this 
way, and having more room than I had, I hope myself to 
make some experiments in this direction shortly. I will say 
now that I am perfectly certain the number of two hundred 
eggs per annum might be attained in a few years with per- 
fect ease were the object systematically sought: and I trust 
these few remarks may arouse general attention to it among 
those who keep poultry for eggs only, and who can easily do all 
that is necessary and without any knowledge whatever of 
fancy points or any attempt to breed exhibition birds." 

Coal Ashes for the Hen-House. 

A New Jersey correspondent of the Prairie Farmer says: 
"In the autumn and winter, each morning the ashes and re- 
fuse from our stoves, mostly from burnt coal, was sifted over 
the droppings from the roosts. This was a perfect deodorizer ; 
and kept everything clean and sweet. I soon began to notice 
that the fowls were intently picking at the small bits of coal 
or slate, both in the sieve and that which had passed through 
it. Eventually they became very fond of the diet, evincing 
as much interest as would be expected by any choice dish set 
apart for their special delectation. I was sometimes alarmed 
for the throats as I saw them laboring with the large and ill- 
formed pieces ; but they were always successful in their 
efforts. I suppose that beside their beneficial effect as tri- 
turants, they exert a good effect from the chemical consti- 
tuents of the original vegetable matter of which the coal is 
formed. Suffice it to say, the flock has thriven and grown 
more healthy, and the layers have quite distinguished them- 
selves in the production of eggs." 

Eggs: How Increased. 

If an increase of eggs be desired in the poultry yard, before 
large sums are expended in the purchase of everlasting layers, 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 149 

we would recommend the system of keeping no hens after the 
first, or at most, after the second year. Early pullets give 
the increase, and the only wonder is that people persist, as 
they do, in keeping up a stock of old hens, which lay one day 
and stop the next. In some parts of Europe it is the in- 
variable rule to keep the pullet only one year. Feeding will 
do a great deal— a surprising work indeed— in the production 
of eggs, but not when old hens are concerned. They may put 
on fat, but they annot put down eggs. Their tale is told — 
their work is done. Nothing remains to be done 'with, them 
but to give them a smell of the kitchen fire, and the sooner 
they get that the better. 

Eggs and Pullets. 

Unless you want a large proportion of cockerels do not sell 
all the largest eggs you can pick out. There are no means 
known by which the sex of eggs can with certainty be deter- 
mined. Although many thought some sign indicated the 
sex, yet after repeated fair trials, all these indications have 
entirely failed with me, except the one which follows: With 
regard to the eggs of most of the feathered kingdom, if you 
pick the largest out of the nest, they are the ones that gener- 
ally produce males, especially if they happen to be the first 
laid. Even in a canary's nest it is noticeable that the first 
egg laid is very often the largest, the young from it is the 
first out, keeps ahead of its comrades, is the first to quit the 
nest and the first to sing. 

Road Dust for the Hennery. 

Collect a few barrels of dry earth, road dust, fine dry dirt 
in the cornfield or potato patch, or any where that is most 
convenient. This is a handy thing to have in the fall and 
winter for sprinkling under the roosts and on the floor of the 
poultry-house. It absorbs ammonia, keeps down smells, 
and keeps things shipshape. It will pay to attend to this 
when it can be so easily done. It costs but little, and is a 
real advantage. 

How Nests Should be Made. 

Eggs hatch much better if the nests are made by placing a 
cut turf, and shovel of mold, sand or ashes, ia the the box or 



i50 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

basket, and on this a little short straw, than if straw only is 
used. In this way a convienient hollow is obtained that 
prevents the eggs rolling out from under the sitting hen. In 
cool weather the eggs are thus kept in a much more equable 
temperature than in nests made simply of loose straw. 

Enemies of the Barnyard. 

There is greater loss every season from enemies than from 
disease. The minks, hawks, owls, dogs and cats play havoc 
with the stock at a time when the farmer is not aware of it. 
The majority of farmers will agree with us when we state 
that during some seasons they feel certain they have hatched 
several hundred chicks, but when the chicks are ready for 
market, only one-half of them can be found. The farmer 
cannot tell where they have gone or how they were lost, but 
he knows that they are gone, % though at what age or through 
which source always remains a mystery. The enemies work 
secretly. They carry off the chicks one by one, and the loss 
is so gradual that it is not noticed. 

How to prevent such loss is not easily explained. No two 
farmers are situated alike, and the shotgun and watchfulness 
must be the safeguard. The greatest depredator is the 
family cat. She will often allow the chicks to roost on her 
back and eat with them from the same dish, for she knows 
that they are protected; but the peaceable and fraternal cat 
becomes a tigress when no one is looking, and many little 
chicks become her prey, while at the same time she professes 
to tenderly care for them. No cat can be trusted. All kinds 
of birds are the natural prey for cats. A cat will devour 
young chicks, no matter how well she may behave herself ap- 
parently. Eats are also very destructive, a single rat often 
killing every chick hatched, and he must be caught, even if 
all the floors have to be torn up, or it will be a waste of time 
to attempt raising chicks. Such rats are too sly for cats, 
traps or poison. They must be hunted down, and no expense 
must be spared until they are destroyed. Minks can be kept 
out of the poultry house, and so can the owls. Dogs usually 
kill chickens when they are half-starved and are ill fed. 
Foxes no longer do much damage near the barnyard. The 
chief enemies are the hawk, rat and cat, the latter being the 
most destructive. 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 151 

The Best Rat Poison Made. 

Wash seven quarts of wheat clean, soak ten minutes, and 
drain till thoroughly dry. Pulverize as fine as flour one 
ounce of strychnine in a teacup, pour upon this just enough 
water to dissolve it and grind with a round-headed bolt for 
five minutes, then fill the cup nearly half full of water, add 
brown sugar and stir until it forms a syrup as thick as molas- 
ses, which will fill the cup. To this add ten drops each of oil 
of anice and rhodium and stir well. Pour this mixture into 
the wheat, rinse out the cup with a little water and pour also 
into the wheat and stir the whole mass with a large spoon or 
paddle till every kernel of wheat becomes coated with the 
syrup. Put fifteen to twenty grains of the wheat in the run- 
ways of the vermin, and they will come to it from as far as 
they can smell it, and the poison being on the outside of the 
kernels they seldom get far away, but die in their tracks. 
Never put your hands into the mixture, either in making or 
using, and keep the wheat either in a can or a jar with a close 
cover, to prevent moulding and preserve the scent of the oils. 
Mark the jars in large letters, Poison; Don't Handle. 




152 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



Turkeys. Geese and Ducks. 



Raising Turkeys. 

Cross a bronzed gobbler with common bens, and al- 
low six hens with each gobbler as a limit, though 
fewer are better. Each hen will lay from twenty 
to forty eggs according to management. The 
period of mcubating is thirty days. Sixteen eggs 
constitute a sitting for a hen. Allow the young ones 
no food for twenty-four hours. Then feed often ( but avoid 
over-feeding), give food at least every two hours until 
they feather. The reason of this is that the growth of feath- 
ers on young turkeys is very rapid and demands a constant 
supply of nutrition, hence a single omission of food for a few 
hours sometimes proves fatal. The feed at first should be 
coarse corn meal, which is added to a mixture of milk and 
eggs. This should be cooked, and an onion chopped up and 
added to it. After they are three days old, feed mashed 
potatoes, chopped onions, ground oats and eggs well mixed 
with milk, and cooked. Milk is always excellent. After 
they are a week old the eggs may be omitted, but a portion 
of cooked meat and a little ground bone should be allowed. 
They then may be allowed grain of all kinds ( corn being 
ground ), cooked vegetables and milk. The water should be 
fresh and clean, one quarter of a teaspoonf ul of tincture of 
iron to be given in every pint of water. 

One of the secrets of raising young turkeys is never to 
allow them to get wet or chilled. The damp grass is fatal. 
Keep them in a coop with the hen for three or four days, and 
then allow them to ramble with her on dry days only, keeping 
them in a roomy place on the approach of damp weather. They 
cannot be confined like chicks, as it is not their nature, but if 
carefully watched until they are beyond danger they are very 
hardy and can take care of themselves. Do not attempt to 
raise turkeys unless you have ample room for them to forage 



TURKEYS, GEESE AND DUCKS. 153 

upon, as they are fond of straying off to long distances and 
easily fly over the highest fences. Keep the male away from 
the hens while the latter are setting, or he will eject them 
from their nests. When on the nest the hen sticks closely, 
and will nearly starve before she will leave it, consequently 
her food should not be neglected. Turkeys are subject to the 
same diseases as chickens, and the remedies in the case of 
one apply to the other. 

There are seven varieties of turkeys— the Wild, Bronze, 
Narragansett, White, Black, Buff and Slate; the Bronze and 
Narragansett being the largest in size, sometimes attaining 
the weight of forty pounds. All varieties prerer to roost in 
trees, but may, by being hatched under barnyard hens, be 
taught to roost in the poultry houses. 

How to Fatten Turkeys. 

Nothing pays better to be sent to market in prime con- 
dition than the turkey crop. Many farmers do not under- 
stand this. Their turkeys grow on a limited range, getting 
little or no food at home through the summer, and if fed at 
all with regularity it is only for two or three weeks before 
killing. I see these lean, bony carcasses in the local market 
every winter, and feel sorry for the owner's loss. They have 
received a small price for their birds and a still poorer price 
for the food fed out. The average life of a turkey is only seven 
months, and the true economy of feeding is to give the 
chicks all they can digest from the shell to the slaughter. 
If they get all they can eat on the range, that is well. 
Usually this should be supplemented by regular rations when 
they come from the roost in the morning and two or three 
hours before they go to roost at night. The food may be slack 
in the morning, so that they will go to the range with a good 
appetite, and fuller at night. They should be put upon a 
regular course of fattening food as early as the middle of 
October, when you propose to kill the best birds at Thanks- 
giving. The younger birds should- be preserved for the Christ- 
mas and New Year's markets. They continue growing quite 
rapidly until midwinter, and you will be paid for the longer 
feeding. There is nothing better for fattening than old corn, 
feed partly in the kernel and partly in cooked meal mashed 
up with boiled potatoes. Feed three times a day, giving the 
warm meals in the morning, and feeding in troughs with 



154 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

plenty of room, so that all the flock may have a chance. 
Northern corn has more oil than Southern, and is worth more 
for turkey food. Use milk in fattening if you keep a dairy 
farm. Feed only so much as they will eat up clean. Culti- 
vate the acquaintance of your turkeys as you feed them. No 
more charming sight greets your vision in the whole circle of 
a year than a large flock of bronze turkeys at call from their 
roosts on a frosty November morning. New corn is apt to 
make the bowels loose, and this should be guarded against. 
There is usually green food enough in the fields to meet their 
wants in the fall, and cabbage and turnips need not be added 
until winter sets in. If the bowels get loose give them 
scalded milk, which will generally correct the evil. Well- 
fattened and well-dressed turkeys will bring two or three 
cents a pound more than smaller birds. It will not only be 
better for the purse, but for your manhood, to send nothing 
but finished products to the market. 

Geese. 

Geese can be fattened cheaply, as they will eagerly con- 
sume chopped turnips or any other kind of cheap material at 
this season, but to get them fat they should have corn also. 
A goose should not be too fat, as such are objectionable, but 
they should be fat enough to present an excellent market ap- 
pearance. The young geese that have not fully completed 
their growth, cannot be fed too liberally, as they will not be- 
come extremely fat until matured. They do not bring 
as good prices as turkeys, but their flesh is preferred by many, 
owing to its being free from dryness, and although dark in 
appearance, is juicy and of good quality. The feathers are 
an important item, and will pay for the expense of prepara- 
tion. Considering their freedom from disease, and their 
willingness to consume all kinds of food, they are very profit- 
able to those who have large flocks. 

A goose will lay about twenty eggs, but may be induced to 
lay as many as thirty if she is removed from the nest, and 
with good managemnet will hatch two broods. A large goose 
will cover at least a dozen eggs, and she usually begins to lay 
about the middle of February or during March. The gander 
is a faithful attendant, sometimes keeping close to his mate 
while she is incubating, for the purpose of driving away in- 
truders. The period of incubating is about twenty-nine days. 



TURKEYS, GEESE AND DUCKS. 155 

Grass is highty relished by geese, and they may he pastured, 
hut such location should be of a character suitable for 
close cropping, as geese endeavor to eat tops and roots to- 
gether. They are very voracious, and eat anything that is 
fit for food. 

They may be plucked for feathers two or three times dur- 
ing the summer, and will yield about a pound of feathers per 
annum worth from sixty to seventy-five cents. Geese will 
pair if the proportion of sexes is equal, but three geese may 
be permitted with one gander as a limit. They are easily 
restained within enclosures by clipping their wings. 

There are eight varieties of geese— the Wild, Toulouse, 
Embden, African, White Chinese, Brown Chinese, Egyptian 
and Sebastopol. The Toulouse and Embden are the largest, 
and sometimes weigh sixty pounds per pair. The latter is 
entirely white, and also more prolific than some other breeds. 
A cross of the Toulouse gander with the Embden goose makes 
the largest bird for market. The other breeds are more 
ornamental than useful. The management of goslings should 
be similar to that of young ducks. 

Breeding Geese for Feathers. 

It is not genenerally known that this is an important bus- 
iness in West Virginia, but such is the fact. In that state, 
especially in the western part, the water courses are num- 
erous but not navigable, and railroads are undeveloped. 
Often fifty or sixy miles must be traversed to reach a railroad 
station, and in "such locations breeding geese for feathers is 
found to be very profitable. Several pickings are made in a 
season and the crop of feathers is duly baled and sent to 
market by wagon, which is usually at some station where 
agents are ready to receive it. We allude to the feather crop 
of West Virginia in order to state that geese may be made to 
prove equally as profitable in other localities as well, especi- 
ally at points possessing limited railroad facilities, as feathers 
are not heavy enough to interfere with easy hauling, even 
when there are full loads on the wagons. Geese are prac- 
tically self-supporting, and work on a pasture or on a pond. 
They come up regularly at night, protect. their young vigor- 
ously, and subsist where other fowls would starve, having on 
competitors except ducks, which they exceed in size. 



156 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

The carcass of a goose is also salable, the only objection to 
it being the dark color of the flesh, but a goose is juicy and 
not dry like a turkey. 

Require Shade in Hot Weather. 

They require shade from the hot sun. Early-hatched gos- 
lings do the best, from the first of April the till first of May 
is good time for them to hatch. Feed them bread, curd arid 
meal dough. There is°no danger of feeding them too much. 
When reared in this way, they will live and thrive, so that in 
six weeks they may be turned with the old geese. 

Toulouse Geese. 

My mode of raising Toulouse geese, says a writer in the New 
York World, is about this: I select my geese to breed from, 
and pen them in a small lot that has some grass in it; pen 
about three geese to ODe gander. Feed on any kind of grain, 
with scraps from the table, apple and potato parings, cabbage 
or any kind of vegetables. Give them a shelter and good nest. 
Gather the'eggs as soon as laid, to keep J them from freezing. 
As soon as they lay twenty eggs, we set them under four hens, 
in a good warm place. As fast as they hatch take them out 
of the nest and keep them in the house three or four days 1 
then, if the weather is warm, put them out on the ground 
with a hen, in a small close pen. If the weather is bad. keep 
hen and the goslings in the house in a box. Feed on corn 
bread. Give them a cabbage head to eat instead of grass. 
Give them water in something just large enough to drink out 
of, so they can't get into the water. A tin cup is best. After 
the gosling are three weeks old they are enclined to ramble. 
To prevent this x put them in a small, close lot, with plenty 
of grass. Give them water to drink ; keep feed in their coop, 
because they want feed every two hours in the day. Pen 
them at night in a dry shelter, to protect them from rain and 
the owls, till after they are picked the first time. Pick them 
when they are about nine weeks old. Leave all the feathers on 
the back and shoulders, and the large ones on the hips to hold 
up the wings. In about six weeks from this time pick them the 
second time, taking all the feathers. Feed well till goslings 
are grown ; then it will not require much to keep them. We 
never allow our goslings to go to running water till after they 



TURKEYS, GEESE AND DUCKS. l&l 

are picked the first time, Give both goslings and old geese 
plenty of sand, ashes and charcoal while penned. We never 
allow our goslings to get out in the cold rain till after they 
are feathered. 

Management of Ducks. 

"Any calculation as to the return to be expected by those 
who keep ducks," says an experienced breeders, "depends en- 
tirely upon the possession of a suitable locality. They are 
most likely to be kept with profit when access is allowed 
them to an adjoining marsh, where they are able in a great 
measure to provide for themselves ; for if wholly dependent 
on the breeder for their living, they have such ravenous ap- 
petites that they would soon, to use an emphatic phrase, 'eat 
their heads off.' " No description of poultry, in fact, will de- 
vour so much, or feed so greedy. The excursions allowed 
them must be limited to a short distance, otherwise they will 
gradually learn to absent themselves altogether, and acquire 
rather wild habits, so that when they are required to be put 
up for feeding or immediate sale, they, are often found mis- 
sing and difficult to find. 

Ducks, too early allowed their liberty on large pieces of 
water, are exposed to so many enemies, both by land and 
water, that few reach their maturity ; and, even if some are 
thus fortunate, they are not disposed afterward to return to 
the farm-yard and submit quietly to regular habits. They 
may be kept-4n health in small enclosures, by a good system 
of management, though we fear, with very little, if any, 
profit, which is the point to which all our advice must tend. 
There is no doubt that ducks may be made profitable as eggs 
producers, but the quality of their eggs, and the extra labor 
required to obtain them ( for, unless they are got up every 
night and confined, they will drop their eggs carelessly here 
and there, where many of them will not be found ), will not 
allow them to compete with the hen, in that capacity. Also, 
a duck lays when eggs are most plentiful, while hens' eggs 
may be produced at all seasons. 

The best mode of rearing ducklings depends very much on 
the situation in which they are hatched. On hatching, there 
is no necessity of taking away any of the brood, unless some 
accident should happen ; and, having hatched, let the duck 
retain her young upon the nest her own time. On her mov- 



158 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

ing with lier brood, prepare a coop and pen upon the short 
grass, if the weather be fine, or under shelter, if jtormy. 
Keep a wide and shallow dish of water near by them, -and re- 
new the water quite often. Their first food should be crumbs 
of bread, moistened with milk. Curd, or eggs boiled hard and 
chopped fine are also relished by and are good for them. 
After a few days, Indian meal, boiled and mixed with milk, 
and if boiled potatoes, mashed, be added, all the better. All 
kinds of sopped food, buckwheat flour, barley meal and water, 
mixed thin, worms, etc., suit them. They are extremely fond 
of angle worms, grubs and bugs of all kinds, for which reason 
it may be useful to allow them a daily run in the garden. 
All the different substances mentioned agree with young 
ducks, who show, from their most tender age, a voracity 
which they always retain. It is necessary, to prevent acci- 
dents to take care the ducklings come regularly home every 
evening, and precautions must be taken before they are al- 
lowed to mingle with the old ducks, lest the latter should ill- 
treat and kill them, though ducks are by no means so quar- 
relsome and jealous of newcomers as common fowls always 
are. 

We have not bred any ducks for a number of year-*, but 
some of our experience with them is as follows: In 1878, we 
tried the experiment of rearing ducks without having the 
water facilities which many consider necessary to make the 
undertaking successful. We bought of the Aylesbury va- 
riety, one drake and three ducks, in the fore part of 
February, placed them in the our back yard, and let them run 
with the rest of tire fowls ; fed them regularly three times a 
clay, and kept placed for their convenience at all times, an 
eight-quart basin full of water. We did not coop them 
with our other fowls. Understanding they would do better in 
dark coops or roosts, we therefore made for them two tight 
tent coops of rough boards, with small, open doorways in 
front, in the most secluded place we could find in the yard, 
between a couple of trees and surrounded with shrubbery. 
The three ducks commenced laying about the last of Febru- 
ary and continued laying pretty regularly until the latter- 
part of August or first of September. In April, we set a hen 
on thirteen duck's eggs, which brought off twelve young 
ducks. We did not set any ducks, but continued to use hens 
for that purpose, and at the close of the season were rewarded 



TURKEYS, GEESE AND DUCKS.' 159 

with a flock of sixty-eight young ducklings, which brought in 
the fall, when well fattened, an average of $1.50 per pair, saying 
nothing of the large number of eggs used for culinary pur- 
poses. In rearing young ducks with hens, we placed near the 
coops, which are always located in the vicinity of the pump, a 
small pan or water-tight box, sunk in the ground to receive 
the waste water from the pump, which answered the purpose 
as well as if they were given a pond of water to swim in, and 
fretted the hen mother much less. In fattening them, we 
gave them plenty of boiled potatoes mixed with cooked 
Indian meal, made into a pudding. We fed but little corn or 
oats. They paid us well for all our trouble and expense, as 
they doubtless would if the experiment were tried on a larger 

scale. 

There's Money in Ducks. 

How much will it cost to raise a duck eight weeks old ? is 
the question I have asked parties who have been in the busi- 
ness for years. Most of them say 25 cents, some 20 cents and 
a very few 30 cents. Now, I thought I would try a little ex- 
periment and satisfy myself,- as to just what it would cost to 
raise a duck to the age of eight weeks, at which age those 
engaged in the dressing of ducks for the Boston markets will 
buy them. I purchased 425 common mixed ducks' eggs, from 
different parties. These were put in the Reliable incubator, 
Junel. They were tested in one week, and a good many in- 
fertile ones were found, reducing the number to 310. There 
were hatched from these 323 live ducks, some of which being 
weak, soon died. They were put in two broods and had arti- 
ficial heat just ten days ; none died after they were six days 
old. I raised nearly 300 of them and at the age of eight weeks 
they were sold to the carts. These ducks were confined to 
small yards, and could get nothing to eat except what was 
given to them. They were fed on corn meal, fine feed and 
ground beef scraps, and the last two weeks some cracked 
corn. Ground oyster shells were kept by them all the time. 
The cost of feed and oil used in hatching was Hi cents each. 
These ducks were not stinted in feed, being quite fat when 
sold. The price paid for meal was 62 cents per bushel, fine 
feed $1.20 per cwt., and $2 25 per cwt. for scraps. Now these 
parties that I talked with about raising ducks allow them to 
run in pastures, where a portion of their feed is picked up, 



160 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

and they can raise a duck for 2 cents less than I did, the 
price of grain heing the same. I have 50 nice Pekin ducks 
now, and shall be prepared another season to raise a better 
quality of young ducks for market. I feed laying ducks 
the same as I do the laying hens. 

Rapid Growth of Ducks. 

We have experimented with a brood of young ducks, of all 
kinds— common, Rouen, Pekin and crossed— in order to ob- 
serve their growth. When very young they were attacked 
by cramps, but it was discovered that by giving them tepid 
water to drink, instead of that very cold, they were no longer 
afflicted in that manner. Hence, never give cold water to 
very young ducks. At birth, ten ducks, together, weighed 
one pound ; a week later the same number weighed two-and-a- 
half pounds; the second week the ten had reached four 
pounds, or nearly half a pound each when two weeks old. 
Ducks should have a place on every farm ; not the little 
quacking didappers, or puddle ducks, but some of the high- 
toned, well-bred, upper tendom of the web-footed class, easily 
raised, and when cooked and served, more easily eaten than 
any other flesh. These fine breeds are not only large, but 
they lay a large number of eggs, superior to hens' eggs for 
cooking. Ducks for market should be liberally fed from the 
first and marketed early. They are enormous eaters and 
grow rapidly. Nothing that wears feathers can equal the im- 
proved duck as a table fowl. 

Stealing Her Nest. 

Why does the hen that steals her nest usually bring out 
full broods of strong, healthy chicks ? Many have endeav- 
ored to solve the problem, but comparison may assist us to a 
certain extent. In the first place, a hen that lays a clutch of 
eggs in a stolen nest, is usually in a heatlhy condition, is not 
too fat, takes plenty of exercise, and her nest is prepared nat- 
urally with a view to prevent disturbance. When we place 
eggs under hens, we know nothing of them. The hens from 
which they are procured may be excessively fat, and we 
handle them several times before placing them in the nest. 
The birds, as a rule, do not like a disturbance of the eggs, 
especially if they are handled ; many of them leaving and 
abandoning the nests and eggs, if interfered with. But we 



TURKEYS, GEESE AND DUCKS. 161 

handle eggs freely, expose them in every possible manner to 
extremes of heat and cold, and do not stop to consider their 
uniformity. The hen stealing her nest, has a clutch of eggs 
uniform in every respect, as they are laid by her, and conse- 
quently, if one is good the whole should be equally so. But 
take the eggs that are placed under hens or in incubators, and 
they are not uniform, some being large, some small, others 
dark and thick-shelled, while quite a number may be imper- 
fect. 

The hen stealing her nest has every advantage in the qual- 
ity of her eggs, as she attends especially to the matter of hav- 
ing them fertilized instinctively. Her chicks all having tie 
same father and mother, are equally as vigorous and strong. 
But find her nest, take away from the hen the eggs that she 
has laid, and put others in place of them, and it will prove 
that it is not so much in how, where and when she sits, as in 
the vigor of the chicks, for the reason that we stated— the 
excellent physical condition of the hen running at large, and 
laying under the most favorable conditions. When we be- 
come so situated in our poultry enterprises as to be able to 
collect large numbers of eggs from vigorous, healthy stock, 
there will be no cause to point to the truant hen as an exam- 
ple. To be successful we must begin with the laying hens, 
for when they are in condition, the other difficulties will be 
very easily overcome. 

Killing Poultry. 

A correspondent of the Voultry Yard gives the following 
plan. It is so simple and excellent a one that we do not hes- 
itate to advise its use: "I have been killing poultry with 
the knife, and in a different manner from that which I have 
usually practiced. I cut on the back side of the neck, just 
back of the ear or head, my object being to sever the jugular 
vein. There being two, one on each side of the neck, it would 
be best to cut the one near the carotid artery, when only one 
side is cut, thus severing both vein and artery, which I be- 
lieve is on the right side. On hens I cut both sides of the 
neck, and, when the blood stopped running a stream, pene- 
trated the brain by running the knife point through the 
groove in the top of the mouth. I saw no twitching or quiv- 
ering of the muscles. Soon after I commenced to pluck the 
feathers with both hands. They came off very easy. The birds 



162 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL 

were quickly stripped, and without any breaking and tearing 
of the skin. Spring chickens I cut only on one side, and do 
not tear them any to speak of. I must say that the 
method worked better than I expected. The objection to 
scalding in this section is that the fowls soon turn dark, and 
will not sell for as much as dry plucked." If the fowls are 
for immediate sale in a home market, and have been killed 
and dressed as above, their appearance will be improved by a 
quick immersion in hot water. An old poultry seller told us 
he always treated dry picked turkeys and chickens to such 
a bath, and got two cents more on a pound for it. 

The Best Layers. 

It is not an easy matter to know which of your hens are 
the best layers. We admit that some of the hens will lay 
more eggs than others, yet to find out which are the more 
profitable the record cannot cease with a few hens. Nor is 
the greatest profit derived from the hens that lay the largest 
number of eggs, but from those that lay the greater number 
when prices are high. There is more profit in two dozen eggs 
at thirty cents per dozen than from three dozen at twenty 
cents a dozen, although the sum— sixty cents — is the same for 
both lots, for the reason that the cost of two dozen is less than 
for the three dozen. A hen may lay well from April to July, 
and apparently be an extraordinary layer becauseshe lays an 
egg every other day, but after awhile she may do but very little; 
and another hen, that does not seem to be doing her duty, 
slowly reaches the number and still keeps on laying. The 
record should be therefore kept for a year, and an average for 
each month made. The best hens for the year should then 
be retained as breeders, from which to hatch the next sea- 
son's pullets, and they should be mated with a cockerel of a 
good laying family, so as to secure better progeny than the 
parents. The prices, number of eggs laid, number of chicks 
hatched and amount in value produced by each hen, should 
be noted, so as to be assisted in the selection by a knowledge 
of the characteristics of each, and merit will be the guide. 

To Get Rid of Skunks. 

To rid your poultry yard of skunks, purchase a few grains 
of strychnine, roll it up in a ball of lard, and then throw it at 
night outside the yard, where the animals' tracks are seen. 



TURKEYS, GEESE AND DUCKS. 163 

As they are very fond of lard, they will swallow it quickly, 
and in the morning you will find your enemy dead. But you 
must be careful so shut up the dogs and cats, as they are 
equally fond of lard. It is the easiest way to kill any vermin, 
as they die very soon. Skunks will kill and eat full-grown 
ducks and hens and suck their eggs whenever they can gain 
entrance into the poultry house. 

Medicated Nest Eggs. 

Cut a hole in one end of an egg as big as this capital O. 
In the other end put a pin hole. Now blow out the contents 
and you have the empty shell. Next mix plaster-of-Paris and 
water together to the consistency of cream, add a few drops 
of carbolic acid. Pour this into the shell until it is rilled, and 
in twenty-four hours it will be dry and you will have a med- 
icated nest-egg. Five cents worth of plaster-of-Paris will 
make a dozen, and that amount of carbolic acid is sufficient 
to scent a hundred. 

Pigeons. 

Few are aware that pigeons can be kept at a large profit. 
One has only' to note the quotations of 30 to 75 cents a pair, or 
dine at a first-class restaurant and pay 75 cents for a squab, or 
note the item of 900 dozen squabs consumed in 90 days at a 
first-class hotel, to be convinced that the common Rock 
pigeon is by no means to be despised. 

Mr. informs me that his squabs averaged 22i cents 

each, and he keeps several hundred old birds. He keeps them 
housed during seeding time ; then they fly at will and gather 
a large share of their living, he feeding them at four o'clock, 
or thereabouts. The males sit during the afternoon to liber- 
ate the females. By feeding them at four o'clock the females 
are sure of a full crop to sustain them during their long vigil 
of incubation. We believe that 500 pigeons would pay a man 
well for his year's work in caring for them. 

Some of the fancy pigeons are very large. Of the Runt 
breed, Dr. Gook showed a pair at New York that stood twen- 
ty inches high and measured eight inches across the backs. 

Using Thermometers in Incubators. 

Just where to place the thermometer in an incubator has 
been almost as much of a problem as operating the incubator 



164 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

itself. Some who have tried the method, insist that the bulb 
of the thermometer should come in contract with a fertile egg, 
as the fertile egg, containing a chick, is warmer than one that 
is infertile, but in comparing the plan with others it has not 
always proved successful. The best hatches have been se- 
cured by placing a thermometer between the eggs, the upper 
end slightly elevated, and the bulb half way between the top 
and bottom of the eggs. If the bulb of the thermometer 
touches the eggs the heat will be entirely influenced by the 
heat of the growing chick, which is always fluctuating, at 
times rising very high and at others decreasing, the heat from 
no two chicks being the same. That from a strong chick 
will be greater than that from a weak one. We can safely 
claim, however, that when the bulb does not touch the eggs, 
but lies between them, it will more correctly represent the 
temperature of the egg drawer and the heat will be more uni- 
form. Above all things, however, be sure that your thermom- 
eter records correctly, as that is the most important matter. 

Why they Lay. 

You ask if our hens lay in winter, and if so how it happens. 
They do, and this is the way we feed, which explains "how it 
happens:" 

For three mornings in the week we feed about six quarts 
finely chopped hay ( timothy and clover mixed ), six quarts 
boiling water, and two quarts each of bran and middlings- 
For two mornings the flock is fed with four quarts of small 
potatoes and turnips boiled, mashed and mixed with two 
quarts each of bran and middlings. For the other two morn- 
ings they have a ration of the same amount of bran and mid- 
dlings mixed with scalding hot skim milk. 

For the noon ration we give a basket or two of chaff from 
the barn floor scattered in the feed room. At night we give 
three pints of wheat, or when very cold about two quarts of 
corn heated in the oven. We sometimes substitute one quart 
of oil meal for the two quarts of middlings in the morning 
ration. The above is for a flock of forty-five, composed of 
Plymouth Rock and Brown Leghorn pullets. 

In addition to the foods named, the hens have all the 
bones from our beef and pork, oyster shells, and the scraps 
from the lard and tallow. 



EGGS FOR HATCHING. 165 



Eggs for Haicbin 



Importance of Selection. 

~r~ ^" HB ^ incubators are used there is of fcen great dif- 
m \ Acuity to secure a large number of eggs, and 

m M operators are disposed to accept any kind that 

^k I J they cau get, the result being that some eggs 
hatch while others fail. Then the incubators 
are condemned as at fault, when really the cause is due to the 
eggs. When we consider that no two eggs are alike, and 
that the eggs in an incubator may come from as many as a 
hundred hens, it is plain that the matter of collecting and 
selecting eggs is one of the most important connected with 
hatching chicks for market. 

When an egg drawer is filled with eggs it requires but a 
glance over them to notice the great dissimilarity of sizes 
and shapes. While they are in the egg drawer is the time to 
pick them over, for they can then be easily compared. All 
eggs of odd and peculiar shape, very small, very large, or 
which differ from the normal egg, should be removed and the 
drawer filled again. The object should be to secure eggs of 
normal size, smooth shells, regular shapes, and as near per- 
fect as appearances will indicate. There is no way of know- 
ing the fertile from the infertile eggs until they have been in 
the incubator four or five days, so as to test them with an 
egg tester. 

When collecting eggs from neighbors examine the hens in 
yards. If they are clumsy and fat the eggs will mostly be in- 
fertile. The male should be active and vigorous. If the hens 
are on a free range and are enabled to exercise on clear days, 
it is an advantage, and it is better to endeavor to learn if the 
stock is inbred or unhealthy. 

One of the best plans to adopt is for you to procure pure- 
bred stock, and when your young males are matured, go to 



166 



RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



each neighbor and trade one of your males for his scrub and 
sell the scrub, It may be expensive for you at the time, but 
not if you expect to use eggs for hatching from those yards, 
as you will thus improve the stock for your benefit and add 
vigor by the out-cross, thus securing better hatches, more 
rapid growth of chicks, higher prices and larger profits. 




HATCHING BY MACHINE. 16"; 



Hatching by Machine. 



r 



Two Dozen Rules. 

\jrst —Hens that lay in winter cannot produce as fer- 
tile eggs at that time as in the spring, for the cold 
season prevents exercise, the hens become fat, and 
the pullets are not as fully matured, while the 
male, if he has a frosted comb, suffers from cold 
or becomes too fat, and is unserviceable. 

Second — The hen seldom sits in winter, hence she and 
theincubator do not conflict. 

Third — Eggs are sometimes chilled in winter. When 
you buy them you take many chances. 

Fourth — Do not use extra large eggs or small eggs. Have 
all eggs of normal size and of perfect shape. 

Fifth — In winter the hen will not hatch one-half of her 
eggs nor raise one-third of her chicks. 

Sixth —When chicks die in the shell the chances are that 
too much draft of air came over them. It will occur at 
times with the best sitting hens. This trouble will appear 
with stock that are overly fat, and often with young and im- 
matured pullets. 

Seventh —Dry, warm nests in winter, and moist nests in 
summer is an old proverb, hence the moisture depends on the 
season. Less is required in the incubator in winter. 

Eighth — As the chicks progress in the eggs they give off 
heat, hence be careful of the lamp, hob water or whatever 
the source of heat. 

Ninth — No currents of air can pass through an incubator 
without a plentiful supply of moisture, but in incubators 
that have no currents but little moisture is needed. 

Tenth — Too much moisture covers the egg and excludes 
the air from the chicks within the egg. 



168 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Eleventh — Dc not labor under the delusion that a 
young chick is always dying in the shell for lack of fresh air, 
and that it must have as much as a young animal. 

Twelfth — Do not take out the chicks until you believe 
all are hatched. Leave the chicks in the incubator. If you 
take them out the heat will suddenly drop, and you will also 
let in the cold air on the eggs. Never disturb the eggs when 
chickens are hatching. 

Thirteenth — Eggs will be aired sufficiently when they 
are turned. It is of no consequence to cool them. 

Fourteenth — If the chicks do not hatch out by the 
twenty-first day, your heat was too low. 

Fifteenth — If the chicks begin to hatch on the eigh- 
teenth day, your heat was rather high. 

Sixteenth — Do not put eggs in at different periods dur- 
ing the hatch, and do not hatch ducklings and chicks to- 
gether. 

Seventeenth — The same rule applies to hens, ducks, 
turkeys and guineas as regards heat and moisture. 

Eighteenth — Never sprinkle eggs. It lowers the heat 
instantly, and it sometimes kills the chicks in the shells. 

Nineteenth — If the incubator shows moisture on the 
glass do not open the egg drawer until it is dry. Cold air and 
dampness kill the chicks, the heat being lowered by rapid 
evaporation, 

Twentieth — The reason that the hen that steals her 
nest hatches so well is because you do not give her all sorts of 
eggs, such as large eggs, small eggs and eggs from old hens 
and immature pullets, such as you put in the incubator. 

Twenty-first — Kick away the curious visitor just when 
your eggs are hatching. 

Twenty- second — No matter how much you read, experi- 
ence will be the best teacher. 

Twenty-third — Have your incubator warm when you 
put in your eggs. 

Twenty-fourth — A child cannot manage an incubator, 
all claims to the contrary. Incubators are not toys. Don't 
turn a man's work to a boy. 



POINTS OX HATCHING IN WINTER. 169 



Points or) Hatching in Winter. 



Some Valuable Hints. 

The first thing necessary to insure success in the 
hatching of chickens in winter, or at any other 
season, is to procure the eggs from a flock of 
healthy and vigorous fowls. In such a flock 
there should be about one-tenth as many males 
as hens to produce the best results. 

Use nothing but perfectly formed eggs with smooth shells. 
They should be kept where the temperature does not fall be- 
low fifty-five degrees nor rise above sixty-five. By turning 
them three times a week they may be kept two weeks before 
setting. In very cold weather they must be gathered several 
times a day to prevent them from getting chilled. 

Have the incubator in a room where the temperature will 
not fall below sixty degrees. If kept in a colder room, when 
the egg drawer is opened, the eggs receive a chill which kills 
the chick in the shell. 

Place the eggs in the incubator, which has been previously 
heated to one hundred and three degrees, then keep an even 
temperature. Should it reach one hundred and seven or one 
hundred and eight degrees for a short time it will do no 
harm, but the more uniform the temperature the better will 
be the result. The eggs should be turned twice in twenty- 
four hours, at regular intervals, till the nineteenth day, after 
which they should not be disturbed except to turn those 
which may be pipped on the lower side, to prevent the chick 
from smothering. ISo moisture should be given them the 
first eight days, then a small amount should be supplied. 
The last four or five days moisture should be given freely. 
Of course, the manner of furnishing moisture and ventila- 



170 



RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



tion depends upon the kind of incubator that is being used, 
but both are very important factors in the artificial hatching 
of chicks. 

When the eggs have been in the incubator ten days they 
should be tested by holding to a bright light. A very satis- 
factory egg tester consists of a tin pipe, which rests upon the 
globe of the lamp. It should be a trifle larger than the 
chimney, with a three-quarter-inch hole opposite the flame, 
and smaller ones near the bottom of the tube to admit air to 
the lamp. All eggs that are not fertile should be removed 
from the drawer. They may be easily distinguished by the 
clear appearance that they present, while the fertile eggs will 
appear dark, showing plainly the air bubble at the large end. 

After the chicks commence pipping the shell, the incuba- 
tor should not be opened any more than is necessary. 

The above suggestions have been made on the basis of 
three years' experience in hatching early chicks with incuba- 
tors. 



A WORD TO THE WISE .... 

There is big money in poultry rais- 
ing when conducted on business prin- 
ciples. If you are shrewd and alive to 
your best interests it behooves you to 
stir around and give this matter the 
attention it deserves. Get a good start 
and you are bound to be successful. 
An equipment furnished by the Reli- 
able Incubator & Brooder Company will enable you to get 
out of the old rut and turn what has been regarded as a " side 
issue " into the most promising and profitable feature of the 
farm, requiring the least exertion and giving the best returns. 




QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 171 



Questions oopd Answers. 



r 



Pointers on Poultry. 

Following are a number of replies brought out in re- 
sponse to queries from practical poultrymen in 
various parts of the country, which embrace a 
range of subjects that come within the experience 
of almost every chicken fancier, and from which 
some valuable pointers may be gleaned : 

Question — Will a damp cellar do for an incubator '? 

Answer — Yes, it will be an excellent place. In a damp' 
cellar you will not need any moisture pans in the machine, as 
the natural moisture of the cellar air will be sufficient. 

Question — Do you know of any egg tester by which you 
can tell a fertile egg before putting it in the incubator? 

Answer — There is no way of knowing if an egg is fertile 
before being used for incubation. 

Question —Please inform me how hot or cold it must be 
in the incubator to spoil the eggs. 

Answer — Lower than 40 is injurious, and 116 for an hour 
will spoil them. These are extremes. 

Question —What should be the size of a house in which 
to raise 75 to 100 chicks to three pounds ? and will a house 
built of rough boards and covered with good roofing be warm 
enough? 

Answer — A house 10x12, divided into two pens 6x10, will 
do very well. A brooder will comfortably accommodate 50 to 60 
chicks till six weeks old, at which age they should be gradu- 
ated from the brooder to a house not freezing cold, but com- 
fortable enough. A well built house, covered with a good 
roofing will do nicely. 

Question— How about turning eggs once over daily, or 
half over twice a day ? 



172 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Answer —They should be turned half over only, to bring 
the cool side up to the heat, and we think it wiser to turn 
twice a day. One incubator maker advises turning three 
times a day, but we are satisfied that twice a day is sufficient 
with ours. 

Question — I am using an incubator and have had very 
good success until recently. Now I find many full grown 
chicks dead in the shell. What is the cause ? 

Answer — Too much heat probably, although it is not 
certain that it is the fault of the incubator ; the same thing 
happens sometimes with hens. It may be the fault of the 
hens laying too rich (fat) an egg, and the chick growing too 
large for the shell, and cannot turn himself to break his way 
out. This is liable to happen where fowls are lazy and have 
little exercise. 

Question —Does it do harm to handle the eggs, such as 
testing them or changing them from one machine to another 
after they have been in the incubator three days ? 

Answer— Not if they are handled carefully and not ex- 
posed to cold air too long. If testing eggs in a cool room it 
is well to warm a couple of blankets folded to be a little 
larger than the egg tray. Cover the untested eggs with one 
warm blanket and spread the other over another tray,, and 
slip the eggs under as fast as tested. In this way chilling 
the eggs can be avoided. 

Question —Can I get too much moisture in the machine? 
After the eggs had been in three days I set two baking pans 
of water under the egg trays and sprinkled the eggs twice a 
day. 

Answer — Yes. Especially if it is put in by sprinkling. 
Here is probably the cause of your failure — the constant 
chilling twice a day to which you subjected the eggs probably 
killed the germs ; some early, others half grown, and others 
which were hardier and stronger, survived nearly long enough 
to escape. The pans were enough for moisture. 

Question — How many chicks would a brooder house 50 
feet long and 12 feet wide accommodate ? Could I heat it with 
a stove ? 

Answer —Five hundred if it was divided into 10 apart- 
ments of 5 feet by 8, leaving a 3 foot walk on the north side. 
That would give you ten hovers which would accomodate 50 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 173 

chicks each. You would want a stove with a water jacket 
and outflow and return pipes for the hot water. A simple 
stove will not answer. You want the heat where it will keep 
the chicks warm, and hot water pipes are the thing. 

Question — How long should chickens he kept in the 
brooder hefore they can do without artificial heat ? 

Answer — Until about six weeks old, but it depends on 
the season and weather. 

Question— Will eggs hatch with a constant temperature 
of 100 to 102 degrees ? 

Answer — Yes. But the hatch will be delayed and the 
chickens weakened somewhat. The nearer the temperature 
is kept to 103 or 104 degrees the better. 

Question —Are the conditions the same with the incuba- 
tors in hatching duck eggs as with hens' eggs ? That is, shall 
I keep the same moisture and heat in the incubator for the 
duck eggs as for the hens' eags ? 

Answer — The conditions are the same, only the duck 
eggs want but little moisture the first three weeks. The 
temperature required is the same. 

Question — Have I a right to build an incubator and in- 
fringe on patents if I do not offer it for sale? Can I build a 
hot water incubator, heat it with a lamp, and not infringe 
on patents '? I wish to regulate it by expansion of the water 
in the tank. 

Answer— You cannot make a patented article even for 
your own use. You can make and sell any incubator that is 
not patented. 

Question —Will it do harm to have the heat rise to 106 
degrees in an incubator after the eggs have been in three days 
or more ? 

Answer —No. The temperature may rise to 108 or even 
to 110 without injury unless allowed to remain at the highest 
point six or eight hours, and frequently the best hatches are 
obtained with irregular changes from 90 to 112. 

Question — How often, how much and what time should 
moisture be put in a two-lamp incubator '? Capacity, 200 eggs 
for chickens. 

Answer — The measurement of moisture is impossible. 
Water evaporates more rapidly when warm than when cold. 



174 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 

Everything depends on how much air flows in, the tempera- 
ture, stage of incubation, cubic inches of space in incubator, 
etc. No one can know how much moisture to give. It can 
only be determined by time of year and location where the 
hatching is done. 

Question — What is the cause of incubator chicks being 
ruffled in feathers? Some act as if benumbed, stretch out 
their necks and lay down. 

Answer — May be due to several causes — bottom heat, 
lice, dampness or insufficient heat in brooder. 

Question — Two weeks hence I wish to remove chicks 
then twenty-five days old from indoor brooder to enclosure 
outside. Will it be practicable without artificial heat ? 

Answer —It would be very risky, as most chicks at that 
age are still unfledged ; consequently liable to be chilled of a 
cold night, or in a cold storm. We do not like to move out 
our chicks till they are about six weeks old, and it was so cold 
throughout the first half of May we didn't move any out till 
they were almost eight weeks old. 

Question —If I keep a pan of water in my incubator and 
wet sponges under the egg drawer (which has a cloth bottom) 
is tnere any need of keeping wet sponges in with the eggs '? 

Answer — The water pan alone is sufficient. Incubator 
managers use much less moisture than a few years ago, and 
are experimenting towards still less, some advocating none 
whatever. In our 600-egg machine, instead of putting in the 
four moisture pans at the start, and having moisture all the 
hatch, we put in two pans only for the last week or ten days, 
and find it ample. Some that we know put in no moisture 
till the eighteenth day. and then only a wet sponge in each 
tray. 

Question —How early can I start an incubator, and will 
I have to keep it where it won't freeze, or would it be better 
to let the hens set and take care of the chicks that early ? 

Answer — October is usually the time to begin. It 
should be in a place of moderate temperature. You cannot 
use hens that early, as they may not be broody. 

Question —I had some Brown Leghorn pullets that were 
hatched last March and begun laying in August and contin- 
ued till October, when, to my surprise, they begun to shed 



QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. 175 

their feathers : they haven't laid since, and while they are 
healthy and spry, their combs are pale and I fear they won't 
lay till spring. What is the cause, do you think ? They were 
not too fat and apparently healthy. 

Answer — This is not an uncommon occurrence. Our 
experience has been that pullets of the quickly maturing 
breeds, hatched early in the season, will lay a few eggs in the 
fall, moult late, and begin to lay again quite late in the sea- 
son. For this reason we have been unable to endorse the ad- 
vice so generally given, to natch early pullets in order to get 
early winter and spring layers. 

Question — Some say that fowls that have cholera are not 
fit for breeding. What do you think about it ? 

Answer —Fowls that have had any serious illness are un- 
fit for breeding because of their impaired vigor. 

Question —How long can eggs be kept good for hatching? 
Should they be turned daily, and should they be kept in a 
close room '? 

Answer — The fresher eggs are when set the better , but 
they can be kept some weeks, four to six, if carefully attended 
to. They should be kept in an even temperature of about 45 
to 50 degrees (a dry cellar is best if not too cold) and should 
be turned (by gentle handling) every other day. 

Question — I have to keep my hens in an enclosure 20x50 
feet, including house. How many hens can I keep in it and 
how much feed shall I give each hen ? What kind of food 
shall I give ? I keep them for eggs. 

Answer —A flock of fifteen would, with proper care, find 
a comfortable home in the area mentioned during the entire 
year. In winter a much larger flock of layers might be ac- 
commodated. The larger the flock the greater must be the 
care taken of them. There is no fixed rule as to quantity or 
kind of food to be given. You will find different modes of 
feeding throughout these pages. 



176 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



Aroapd tl)e Poultry Yard. 



Facts Worth Considering. 

"¥"._. et the boys have a flock of fowls. 
I C A It is good policy to renew the litter on the floor 
I J °f tne feeding room frequently. 

I J Observe how a flock will nestle on a well-littered 
floor in winter. A hint to the wise. 

Long wattled birds should have water supplied in auto- 
matic fountains that have small drinking cups. 

Warm messes for feeding in the morning should be mixed 
the previous evening and kept warm through the night. 

There should be ladders from the perches to the floor where 
there are heavy fowls. The best form of ladder is a board 
with cleats nailed across. 

Fowls need air, but not the kind that comes in a draft or 
a biting wind. Wind is next to water in the amount of dis- 
comfort and disease it causes. 

A little grain scattered over the litter on the floor in the 
evening will induce the birds to begin their work early in the 
morning, and so help them to relish their breakfast. 

The custom of the most successful turkey raisers is to 
breed only from well matured stock. When the breeds have 
proved themselves reliable they are kept for several years, 
and the young stock sold. 

While fowls may live and, apparently, thrive on an ex- 
clusive corn diet through the winter, it is not the best diet to 
bring the flock out in good order for next spring's business. 
They need vegetables and meat also. The best is the cheap- 
est in the long run. 

Oats are excellent for laying hens. 

Steamed rice is good for young chickens. 

Geese should never be picked in cold weather. 

A good hen should lay at least 140 eggs during the year. 

Goslings grow more rapidly than any other kind of bird. 



AROUND THE POULTRY YARD. 177 

Egg eating is apt to be developed by too close confinement. 

It is necessary to feed meat in some form during the winter. 

Puddles are not the proper sources of water supply for 
chickens. 

Sugar beets, carrots and turnips are good winter food for 
poultry. 

If turkeys are carefully managed they are profitable on 
any farm. 

Cochins mated with Game or Brown Leghorn cocks make 
good crosses. 

When hens are moulting the accumulation of feathers 
should be cleared out at least once a week. 

Egg foods are those which contain lime for the shell, albu- 
men for the white and carbon for the yelk. 

Geese feather more rapidly when they have an abundance 
of fresh water and run on a green pasture. 

A hen in her prime and properly cared for, will produce 
three times her weight in eggs yearly. 

A good way of making poultry pay is to always have some 
ready for sale. In this way the market can always be met. 

For fattening fowls quickly, broken rice has been found 
to be a valuable food and one that may be obtained at low 
rates. 

Wheat is the best grain for poultry every day in the year, 
except when fattening for market, when corn should be used. 

There is no reasonable excuse for keeping scrub fowls, 
when it is so easy to get well bred ones. Pure-bred fowls are 
more satisfactory. Few people will take good care of a lot of 
mongrel chickens, while if they had some modern beauties, 
they would treat them carefully and well, and be well paid 
for their trouble. 




178 RELIABLE POULTRY MANUAL. 



An Interesting Experiment. 



On Ventilation. 

We have made some interesting experiments on 
the subject of ventilation during the past sea- 
son, being led to do so by seeing an article 
going the rounds that eggs had been hatched 
after being hermetically sealed up. Not being 
in the habit of jumping at conclusions, the experiment pro- 
ceeded on the principle that we knew nothing about the sub- 
ject but would make an effort to find out. 

A tin box large enough to hold fifteen eggs was made and 
the eggs put in. It had a glass cover over one side, was 
sealed with putty so that it was perfectly air-tight, placed 
in an incubator and run for ten days, when the box 
was opened. Of all the vile abominable smells ever tasted — 
it was so thick it could be tasted as well as smelled ! The 
smell passed off in a few minutes, when the eggs were exam- 
ined and thirteen out of the fifteen found with dead chicks 
that appeared to have died about the seventh day of incu- 
bation. The eggs were turned by turning the box upside 
down, and thermometers in the box under the glass showed 
the proper heat. 

Twenty-four small boxes large enough to hold one egg 
each were then made, with two side glasses. The eggs were 
packed around the corners of the box with cotton so they 
would not tumble about any, and then sealed up tight. By 
holding the box up to the light and looking through it the 
eggs could be tested and it could be seen at just what time 
they died. 

Part of the boxes were only sealed on one side and a small 
opening was left at the top of the other side. Part were 
packed on one side, all but a hole on the edges of the opposite 



AN INTERESTING EXPERIMENT. 



179 



side and these were turned so that one hole would be at the 
top side and one at the bottom, thus allowing a circulation or 
draught from .the bottom to top. 

Of these that were sealed tight not an egg had a live germ 
after seven days. The boxes that were tight at the bottom and 
open at the top — a small opening only — kept alive until the 
twelfth or fifteenth day, then they died. As the chick grew, 
the gas was made faster than it could escape, and so they died. 

Those that had a hole in both top and bottom edge of the 
boxes lived up to the nineteenth day and would have hatched 
had they been permitted 

This proves several things most conclusively. First, eggs 
must have ventilation to hatch them. Second, an incubator 
perfectly air tight below and up to a little above the top of 
the eggs would not hatch, as the carbonic acid gas would 
accumulate and smother the eggs. Third, there must be 
some circulation where the eggs are. Fourth, eggs with live 
germs will produce enough carbonic acid gas to destroy life. 

In lieu of turning the boxes that were sealed at the bot- 
tom, they were moved often enough to keep the contents well 
mixed, which is all that is required by the turning of eggs. 
The others were turned by turning the boxes upside down. 





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Reliable Incubator Company's 
Gapor)izir)g Instrftnaepfs. 



Complete, with Instructions, $2.50. 




In Velvet Lined Case, as per Engraving, $2.75. 



We send book, "Complete Guide for Caponizing" with 
every set. 

RELIABLE INCUBATOR § 
BROODER GOMPANY, 

QUINGY, ILLINOIS. 



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From Month to Month We sha11 p resent desi ? ns ° f practical 

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In Our Editorial Pa^es Keshan give the cream of our twelve 

=■ — years of actual, daily experience in 

poultry raising and breeding, reserving nothing that will 
help those who wish to learn- in order that they may be able 
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A Question and Answer Department wm be conducted, m 

— - - which will be answered 

clearly and concisely- all questions pertaining to the poultry 
business asked of the Journal by its family of readers. 

ArtlCleS From the pens of the experienced poultry breeders 

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treating especially of the practical, th3 actual, the money- 
making side of the question. 



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